Api ConnectApplication · Ibm

CVE-2026-3144

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.1.1.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click 6 weeks old

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
IBM API Connect 12.1.0.0 through 12.1.0.3 uses default credentials which could allow an attacker to gain unauthorized access to the application before the system enforces a credential update.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

IBM API Connect versions 12.1.0.0 through 12.1.0.3 ship with default credentials that remain active until the system forces a password update. An attacker with knowledge of these default credentials can authenticate with administrative privileges before the credential rotation is enforced, potentially gaining full unauthorized access to the API management platform.

MitigationImmediately change all default credentials on affected IBM API Connect installations before initial deployment or if already deployed. Audit access logs for unauthorized administrative access and enforce credential complexity requirements.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Api ConnectApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0.0, < 12.1.1.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed IBM API Connect version
    Run the version check command for IBM API Connect (typically via 'apic status' or check the product dashboard for the version number)
    Affected if The installed version is 12.1.0.0, 12.1.0.1, 12.1.0.2, or 12.1.0.3 (any version >= 12.1.0.0 and < 12.1.1.0)
  2. Verify default credentials have been changed
    Attempt to authenticate using the known default administrative username and compare against the initial default password that ships with the product, then confirm the password has been modified
    Affected if Default credentials remain unchanged or still authenticate successfully, indicating the password rotation has not been enforced yet
  3. Confirm password rotation policy status
    Check the security or authentication policy configuration in the API Connect admin console or configuration files to determine if forced password change on first login is enabled
    Affected if Password rotation policy is not enforced or shows as disabled, meaning default credentials remain active
  4. Review administrative access logs
    Inspect IBM API Connect access and audit logs for administrative login events, particularly from unexpected IP addresses or at unusual times, before the initial password change was completed
    Affected if There are unauthorized administrative login attempts or successful admin access events that occurred prior to documented credential rotation

A user is affected if their IBM API Connect installation is version 12.1.0.0 through 12.1.0.3 AND default credentials have not been changed or password rotation has not been enforced yet.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 12.1.1.0 or later
Fixed in 12.1.1.0
Interim mitigation

Immediately change all default credentials on affected IBM API Connect installations before initial deployment or if already deployed. Audit access logs for unauthorized administrative access and enforce credential complexity requirements.

Recommended fix High confidence

12.1.1.0 or later

  1. Schedule a maintenance window for the IBM API Connect upgrade
  2. Back up the current IBM API Connect configuration, data, and all critical assets
  3. Obtain IBM API Connect version 12.1.1.0 or later from IBM Fix Central or IBM Passport Advantage
  4. Follow IBM's official upgrade documentation to upgrade from 12.1.0.x to 12.1.1.0 or later
  5. After successful upgrade, immediately change all default credentials to strong, unique passwords per IBM API Connect security best practices
  6. Verify the upgrade completed successfully and the default credentials vulnerability is resolved
  7. Review audit and access logs for any unauthorized access attempts that may have occurred before the upgrade

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Api Connect Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-3144 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-3144 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data