Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-27877

Auth Bypass in Ibm Cloud Pak For Data 4.0

Published
19 July 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0054 43th percentile
Risk Priority 45 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-27877 is a medium-severity Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (CWE-200) vulnerability in Ibm Cloud Pak For Data. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique External Remote Services (T1133); ranked at the 43th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

IBM Planning Analytics Cartridge for Cloud Pak for Data 4.0 connects to a CouchDB server. An attacker can exploit an insecure password policy to the CouchDB server and collect sensitive information from the database. IBM X-Force ID: 247905.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1133 External Remote Services Persistence
Adversaries may leverage external-facing remote services to initially access and/or persist within a network.
T1134.001 Token Impersonation/Theft Stealth
Adversaries may duplicate then impersonate another user's existing token to escalate privileges and bypass access controls.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1552 Unsecured Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may search compromised systems to find and obtain insecurely stored credentials.
T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
T1552.002 Credentials in Registry Credential Access
Adversaries may search the Registry on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-26026Same product: Ibm Cloud Pak For Data
CVE-2023-50950Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-22876Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-49877Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2024-27277Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2024-22331Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-45189Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-40368Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-43041Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-40691Same vendor: Ibm

Affected Assets

ibm
cloud pak for data
4.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 14 hardening rules · 8 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V10.4.9
  • V11.7.1
  • V14.1.2
  • V14.2.4

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-287

Literacy training teaches users to recognize and avoid actions that result in unauthorized exposure of sensitive information.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-287

Session auditing enables detection of unauthorized exposure or access to sensitive information during user activities.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-287

Audit record review and analysis can detect unauthorized exposure or access to sensitive information.

addresses: CWE-287 CWE-200

Penetration testing probes authentication mechanisms for bypasses, allowing identification and fixing of improper authentication issues.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-287

The integrated analysis team enables faster detection and containment of incidents involving unauthorized exposure of sensitive information, limiting attacker success in exploiting such weaknesses.

addresses: CWE-287 CWE-200

Security architectures must specify authentication requirements and approaches, making systemic authentication weaknesses harder to introduce.

addresses: CWE-200 CWE-287

Trained staff understand data-handling requirements and are less likely to expose sensitive information through misconfiguration or poor design.

addresses: CWE-287 CWE-200

Hunting detects anomalous authentication patterns or successful bypasses that allow persistent unauthorized entry.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-03 mostly match
prevents

PR.AA-03 directly enforces authentication mechanisms that eliminate most improper-authentication defects, yet CWE-287 spans additional vectors (missing checks, flawed protocols, session handling) that one control does not fully close.

PR.AA-04 mostly match
prevents

PR.AA-04 directly enables verification of identity assertions (mostly preventing CWE-287 in that scope) yet leaves many other authentication failure modes unaddressed (only partial prevention overall).

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

PR.AA-05 directly enforces least-privilege authorization that blocks most unauthorized disclosures, yet CWE-200 also arises from logging, error messages, and side-channel paths that access controls alone do not address.

PR.DS-10 mostly match
prevents

PR.DS-10 mostly prevents CWE-200 by directly eliminating unauthorized access to sensitive data-in-use, yet only partially addresses the weakness because CWE-200 spans many other exposure vectors outside runtime protection.

PR.IR-01 mostly match
prevents

PR.IR-01's segmentation/zero-trust controls largely eliminate network-level unauthorized access paths that enable exposure, yet CWE-200 spans many additional vectors (API responses, logs, app logic) that network controls alone cannot close.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices catch most exposure flaws via design, testing and release controls, yet CWE-200 spans runtime/config issues a single development outcome cannot fully close.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

prevents

Restricting anonymous or unknown access and encrypting high-value information limits the exposure of sensitive data that would otherwise be obtainable by unauthorized actors.

prevents

Suppressing system details, error specifics, and previous log-on information until successful authentication reduces the information an unauthenticated attacker can gather.

prevents

By requiring owners to assign sensitivity labels and corresponding handling rules, the control ensures that information is not left unmarked and therefore reduces the chance that sensitive data will be exposed to unauthorized actors.

prevents

Requiring encryption, access controls, and recipient authentication for transfers directly reduces the chance that sensitive data reaches an unauthorized observer.

prevents

Secure delivery, protected storage, and confidentiality of allocation records limit exposure of authentication material to unauthorized observers.

prevents

Requiring defined procedures, assigned roles, and technical/organizational measures for handling PII reduces the chance that sensitive personal data will be exposed to unauthorized actors through inadequate handling or missing safeguards.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-287
RHEL 7 (3 rules)
  • V-204425 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the SSH daemon does not allow authentication using an empty password. prevents CWE-287
  • V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-287
  • V-204424 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not allow accounts configured with blank or null passwords. prevents CWE-287
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230492 RHEL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-287
Ubuntu 22.04 (1 rule)
  • V-260470 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, when booted, must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-200, CWE-287
Ubuntu 24.04 (3 rules)
  • V-270647 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must not have the telnet package installed. prevents CWE-200
  • V-270675 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS when booted must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-200, CWE-287
  • V-270714 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must not allow accounts configured in Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) with blank or null passwords. prevents CWE-287
Windows 10 (1 rule)
  • V-220737 Administrative accounts must not be used with applications that access the Internet, such as web browsers, or with potential Internet sources, such as email. prevents CWE-200
Windows Server 2016 (1 rule)
  • V-224974 Domain-created Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU) objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-200
Windows Server 2019 (1 rule)
  • V-205743 Windows Server 2019 organization created Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU) objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-200

References