Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NSummary
CVE-2025-14923 is a medium-severity Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key (CWE-321) vulnerability in Ibm Websphere Application Server. Its CVSS base score is 4.7 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Unsecured Credentials (T1552); ranked at the 7th 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 IA-5 (Authenticator Management) and SC-12 (Cryptographic Key Establishment and Management) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2025-14923 is a security vulnerability in IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty versions 17.0.0.3 through 26.0.0.2. It results in weaker than expected security when using the Security Utility to administer security settings. The issue maps to CWE-321 (Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key) and CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials), with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.7 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).
An attacker requires local access to the system, low privileges, and must overcome high attack complexity, with no user interaction required. Successful exploitation enables high-impact unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, such as sensitive security configuration data, but does not affect integrity or availability.
IBM provides details on mitigation and patches in its security advisory at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7261761.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-208253
Vulnerability Data
IBM WebSphere Application Server - Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 26.0.0.2 IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty could provide weaker than expected security when using the Security Utility when administering security settings.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requiring cryptographic keys to be established and managed according to defined requirements prevents developers from embedding static unchangeable keys.
Authenticator management requires secure distribution and handling of credentials, structurally discouraging hard-coded values.
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.
Secure-SDLC activities such as code review and secret scanning directly prevent embedding static keys.
PR.AA-01's credential/key-management processes can reduce the incentive to embed secrets but do not address or detect hard-coded values in source code, so the weakness remains fully possible.
Data-at-rest protection policies require proper key management and therefore discourage hard-coded keys.
Data-in-transit protection similarly depends on non-hard-coded keys for encryption.
Configuration baselines and reviews can prohibit hard-coded keys in deployed artifacts.
PR.AA-02 addresses human identity proofing and per-person credential issuance at enrollment; it has no bearing on whether developers embed static credentials in software.
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.
Education on secure configuration practices discourages technical staff from embedding or relying on hard-coded credentials in systems and applications.
Key-management controls that govern generation, rotation and protection of keys make the use of embedded hard-coded cryptographic keys less likely and easier to detect.
Explicit prohibition of hard-coded passwords and unauthenticated external services stops credentials from being embedded directly in source code.
Contractual requirements for secure coding practices and evidence of testing make it less likely that hard-coded credentials will be introduced or remain undetected in delivered code.
Requiring independent oversight and timely disabling of non-human identities makes it harder for hard-coded or long-lived credentials to remain exploitable.
Mandating immediate replacement of vendor-supplied default credentials eliminates the use of hard-coded or factory passwords that attackers can trivially obtain from documentation or firmware.