Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-50940

Ibm Powersc 1.3 … 2.1

Published
02 February 2024
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View 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:N/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0046 38th percentile
Risk Priority 44 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-50940 is a medium-severity Permissive Cross-domain Security Policy with Untrusted Domains (CWE-942) vulnerability in Ibm Powersc. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Obfuscated Files or Information (T1027); ranked at the 38th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-4 (Information Flow Enforcement) and SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A02:2025 Security Misconfiguration

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

IBM PowerSC 1.3, 2.0, and 2.1 uses Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) which could allow an attacker to carry out privileged actions and retrieve sensitive information as the domain name is not being limited to only trusted domains. IBM X-Force ID:…

more

275130.

CWE(s)
CWE-942CWE-697

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information Stealth
Adversaries may attempt to make an executable or file difficult to discover or analyze by encrypting, encoding, or otherwise obfuscating its contents on the system or in transit.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1189 Drive-by Compromise Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access to a system through a user visiting a website over the normal course of browsing.
attack.mitre.org →
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.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-50933Same product: Ibm Powersc
CVE-2023-50327Same product: Ibm Powersc
CVE-2023-50934Same product: Ibm Powersc
CVE-2023-50935Same product: Ibm Powersc
CVE-2023-50939Same product: Ibm Powersc
CVE-2023-50937Same product: Ibm Powersc
CVE-2023-50962Same product: Ibm Powersc
CVE-2025-27909Same vendor: Ibm
CVE-2023-50326Same product: Ibm Powersc
CVE-2023-50938Same product: Ibm Powersc

Affected Assets

ibm
powersc
1.3, 2.0, 2.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V3.4.3
  • V3.4.6
  • V3.5.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement good match

Information flow enforcement requires approved authorizations and would reject policies permitting untrusted domains.

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation directly exercises security-relevant comparisons to discover incorrect logic.

AC-25 Reference Monitor partial match

A reference monitor must be small and correct, structurally limiting the chance of flawed comparison logic in authorization decisions.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Security engineering principles require correct implementation of comparison logic used for access and authentication decisions.

SC-7 Boundary Protection partial match

Boundary protection at external interfaces stops unauthorized cross-domain communication allowed by permissive policies.

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.PS-01 mostly match
prevents

Hardened configuration baselines and reviews directly prevent permissive CSP or cross-domain policies.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC activities include review and testing of web security policies to avoid untrusted domains.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can surface permissive policy misconfigurations.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect overly permissive cross-domain policies but does not prevent their initial introduction.

A.8.20 Networks security partial match
degrades

Network security policies can restrict cross-domain communication but do not specifically mandate strict CSP or cross-domain policy configuration.

A.8.21 Security of network services partial match
degrades

Security of network services includes defining allowed endpoints, which can limit untrusted domains but does not directly address web-client policy files.

A.8.23 Web filtering partial match
degrades

Web filtering can block untrusted domains at the network level, partially mitigating permissive cross-domain policies.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle includes code review and testing that can catch incorrect comparison logic.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements should specify secure CSP and cross-domain policy settings, directly addressing the weakness.

References