VulnerabilityPublished 22 Aug 2023Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-33850: IBM TXSeries for Multiplatforms · Observable Discrepancy

Affects IBM TXSeries for MultiplatformsSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 67% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Aug 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
IBM TXSeries for Multiplatforms	Affected =8.1 =8.2 =9.1	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Monitor IBM’s official security advisories and apply patches or updates for TXSeries and GSKit-Crypto promptly once released.
Restrict network access to TXSeries services to trusted hosts and networks, employing firewalls and network segmentation to limit exposure.
Implement rate limiting or anomaly detection on decryption request volumes to detect and block abnormal patterns indicative of side-channel attack attempts.
Employ cryptographic best practices such as constant-time implementations and side-channel resistant algorithms where possible, and advocate for IBM to address the timing leakage in future releases.
Conduct regular security audits and penetration tests focusing on cryptographic components to identify potential side-channel vulnerabilities.
Use network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) with signatures or heuristics targeting unusual decryption request patterns.
Educate security teams about timing side-channel risks and ensure incident response plans include scenarios involving cryptographic information leakage.

Description

IBM GSKit-Crypto could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by a timing-based side channel in the RSA Decryption implementation. By sending an overly large number of trial messages for decryption, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-33850 is the potential unauthorized disclosure of sensitive cryptographic information, which could lead to data breaches or compromise of secure communications. Organizations using IBM TXSeries for critical transaction processing, especially in finance, government, and telecommunications sectors, may face risks of exposure of confidential data or cryptographic keys. This could undermine trust in secure messaging, authentication, or transaction integrity, even though the vulnerability does not directly affect data integrity or system availability. The remote and unauthenticated nature of the exploit increases the risk profile, as attackers can attempt exploitation from outside the network perimeter. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk, but the vulnerability’s characteristics make it a likely target for future attacks once exploit code becomes available. European entities with regulatory obligations under GDPR and other data protection laws must consider the confidentiality impact seriously, as data leakage could result in compliance violations and reputational damage.

CWE-203Observable Discrepancy (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product behaves differently or sends different responses under different circumstances in a way that is observable to an unauthorized actor.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
Implementation
Ensure that error messages only contain minimal details that are useful to the intended audience and no one else. The messages need to strike the balance between being too cryptic (which can confuse users) or being too detailed (which may reveal more than intended).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
Logging (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V14.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
V7.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Black Box Reverse Engineering (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Nov 2025, 23:52 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-203

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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