Security Resilience

CVE-2023-32338

Exposed Creds in Ibm Sterling External Authentication Server 6.0.3.0 … 6.1.0

Published
05 September 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0019 8th percentile
Risk Priority 38 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-2023-32338 is a medium-severity Insufficiently Protected Credentials (CWE-522) vulnerability in Ibm Sterling External Authentication Server. Its CVSS base score is 5.1 (Medium).

Operationally, ranked at the 8th 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 Sterling Secure Proxy and IBM Sterling External Authentication Server 6.0.3 and 6.1.0 stores user credentials in plain clear text which can be read by a local user with container access. IBM X-Force ID: 255585.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-8862Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-47147Same product: Ibm Sterling Secure Proxy
CVE-2026-81208Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-46182Same product: Ibm Sterling Secure Proxy
CVE-2023-50311Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-50310Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2024-22345Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-25686Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-46181Same product: Ibm Sterling Secure Proxy
CVE-2024-38341Same product: Ibm Sterling Secure Proxy

Affected Assets

ibm
sterling external authentication server
6.0.3.0, 6.1.0
ibm
sterling secure proxy
6.0.3, 6.1.0

Mitigating Controls

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-522

Training instructs users on protecting credentials from disclosure or unauthorized access.

addresses: CWE-522

Training records for security awareness and role-based training verify education on credential protection practices, tangibly reducing risks from mishandling or exposing credentials.

addresses: CWE-522

Protecting authenticator content from unauthorized disclosure and modification while requiring protective controls addresses insufficiently protected credentials.

addresses: CWE-522

Rules of behavior include credential protection and non-sharing requirements, reducing exposure of insufficiently protected credentials.

addresses: CWE-522

Terminating or revoking credentials stops use of insufficiently protected or lingering credentials post-termination.

addresses: CWE-522

Requiring confidentiality/integrity protection for stored credentials directly mitigates insufficiently protected credentials on disk or in configuration stores.

addresses: CWE-522

Credentials or keys delivered out-of-band are not exposed to interception or inadequate protection on the main transport.

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.

blocks

A.5.10 only requires awareness, a topic-specific acceptable-use policy stating expected behaviours/monitoring, and procedures referencing other controls (e.g. access restrictions, marking, disposal); it performs none of the verb on CWE-522's insecure credential transmission/storage, which requires technical protections like encryption or secure channels that this governance clause does not supply.

blocks

A.5.17 mandates secure allocation, transmission, storage, hashing/encryption per 8.24, strong non-reusable passwords, immediate change of defaults/compromise, and no cleartext — directly stopping exploitation of insufficiently protected credentials with only a bounded remainder (e.g. non-password authenticators or post-storage exposure vectors outside its scope).

blocks

A.6.2 sets contractual terms, NDAs, and communicates responsibilities to personnel; it has no technical effect on how credentials are protected in transmission or storage and cannot stop exploitation of CWE-522

blocks

Regular reminders about password security and personal accountability make users less likely to store or transmit credentials in cleartext or other unprotected forms.

blocks

A.8.24's purpose, guidance (b,c), and key management mandate proper cryptography (algorithms, strength, protection of credentials in storage/transmission) per classification, which stops exploitation of insufficiently-protected credentials; remainder is bounded (e.g. non-cryptographic protections like hashing-only or non-crypto obfuscation per CWE-522 details).

blocks

A.8.5 mandates MFA, alternative strong methods, no cleartext transmission/storage of passwords, session termination, brute-force protection and secure log-on procedures that directly stop interception/retrieval of credentials even when they exist, leaving only a bounded remainder (e.g. non-password credentials or post-authentication storage outside log-on flows)

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-522, a class-level weakness. Rules are authored against its narrower children: CWE-260, CWE-523.

References