Db2Application · Ibm

CVE-2026-6938

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 12.1.4 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 Db2 12.1.0 through 12.1.4 is vulnerable to authorization bypass when uploading to a remote object storage path with a special query.

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 · moderate confidence

IBM Db2 versions 12.1.0 through 12.1.4 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability in the remote object storage upload functionality. By crafting a special query when uploading to a remote object storage path, an authenticated attacker can bypass authorization checks and potentially access or manipulate data they should not have permission to access.

MitigationApply the IBM Db2 patch for this vulnerability when available. Until then, restrict access to the remote object storage upload functionality to only trusted users and monitor for suspicious query patterns.

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
Db2Application
Affected:>= 12.1.0, <= 12.1.4

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

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

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. Check installed Db2 version
    Run the 'db2level' command from a Db2 instance owner or query SELECT SERVICE_LEVEL FROM SYSIBMADM.ENVIRONMENT_INFO
    Affected if Version is 12.1.0, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, 12.1.3, or 12.1.4
  2. Identify remote object storage configuration
    Query SYSIBMADM.DBCFG for configuration parameters containing OBJECT_STORAGE or run GET DATABASE MANAGER CONFIGURATION to search for remote object storage related settings
    Affected if Remote object storage functionality is enabled or configured in Db2 settings
  3. Check upload procedure permissions
    Query SYSCAT.ROUTINEAUTH for EXECUTE privileges on routines related to object storage upload, or examine DBADM and ACCESSCTRL authority grants in SYSCAT.DBAUTH
    Affected if Users without full administrative authority have been granted execute permissions on object storage upload routines

The environment is affected if running Db2 version 12.1.0 through 12.1.4 with remote object storage upload functionality configured and accessible to authenticated users who should be restricted from that feature.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 12.1.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the IBM Db2 patch for this vulnerability when available. Until then, restrict access to the remote object storage upload functionality to only trusted users and monitor for suspicious query patterns.

Fix this in Db2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2026-6938 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