VulnerabilityPublished 27 Jan 2025Updated 29 Sep 2025

CVE-2024-22316: IBM Sterling File Gateway · Incorrect Authorization

Affects IBM Sterling File GatewaySource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:08 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 14% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
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: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on 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 27 Jan 2025
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 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 Sterling File Gateway	Affected =6.0.0.0 =6.2.0.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Organizations should implement the following specific mitigation strategies: 1) Immediately review and tighten access control policies within IBM Sterling File Gateway to ensure strict role-based access and least privilege principles are enforced, minimizing the number of users with elevated permissions. 2) Conduct thorough audits of user permissions and file access logs to detect any anomalous access patterns or unauthorized data manipulations. 3) Isolate Sterling File Gateway environments and restrict network access to trusted users and systems only, reducing the risk of unauthorized authenticated access. 4) Monitor for suspicious activity indicative of privilege abuse or lateral movement within the file transfer infrastructure. 5) Engage with IBM support or security advisories regularly to obtain patches or updates addressing this vulnerability as they become available. 6) Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users accessing the Sterling File Gateway to reduce the risk of compromised credentials being used to exploit this flaw. 7) Where possible, apply compensating controls such as data integrity verification mechanisms (e.g., checksums, digital signatures) on transferred files to detect unauthorized modifications. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control hardening, monitoring, and compensating controls specific to the nature of this authorization vulnerability.

Description

IBM Sterling File Gateway 6.0.0.0 through 6.1.2.5 and 6.2.0.0 through 6.2.0.1 could allow an authenticated user to perform unauthorized actions to another user's data due to improper access controls.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-22316 can be significant, especially for those relying on IBM Sterling File Gateway for critical file transfer operations involving sensitive or regulated data. Unauthorized modification of data could lead to operational disruptions, compliance violations (e.g., GDPR if personal data integrity is compromised), and loss of trust with business partners. Industries such as finance, manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare that use Sterling File Gateway to exchange files with partners or internal departments are particularly at risk. The vulnerability could be exploited by malicious insiders or attackers who have gained authenticated access, enabling lateral movement or data tampering within the file transfer environment. Although the vulnerability does not directly expose confidential data or cause availability issues, the integrity impact can cascade into broader business risks, including erroneous transactions, corrupted data workflows, and potential regulatory scrutiny. Given the medium CVSS score and the requirement for authenticated access, the threat is moderate but warrants timely attention to prevent escalation or combination with other attack vectors.

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #17OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

ibm.com/support/pages/node/7176083 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Oct 2025, 10:21 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-863

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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