VulnerabilityPublished 3 Mar 2026

CVE-2025-14604: IBM Storage Scale · Incorrect Permissions

Affects IBM Storage ScaleSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.6 Medium.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.6Medium

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

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 4% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
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: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to 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 3 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 30 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), 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
IBMStorage Scale	Affected ≥ IBM S, ≤ rage Scale 5.2.3.0 - 5.2.3.5 ≥ IBM S, ≤ rage Scale 6.0.0.0 - 6.0.0.1	Fixed in–

CPE configurations (2)

cpe:2.3:a:ibm:storage_scale:ibm:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ibm:storage_scale:rage:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

AI-suggested

Apply official patches or updates from IBM as soon as they become available to correct permission assignments.
Until patches are released, restrict local user access to IBM Storage Scale systems to trusted personnel only.
Implement strict access control policies and regularly audit permissions on critical resources within IBM Storage Scale environments.
Employ host-based intrusion detection systems (HIDS) to monitor for unusual permission changes or execution attempts on critical resources.
Use role-based access control (RBAC) to limit user privileges and prevent unnecessary local access.
Conduct regular security training for administrators and users to recognize and report suspicious activities.
Maintain comprehensive logging and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts early.
Consider network segmentation to isolate storage systems from less trusted network zones, reducing the risk of local exploitation.

Description

IBM Storage Scale IBM S through rage Scale 5.2.3.0 - 5.2.3.5, and IBM S through rage Scale 6.0.0.0 - 6.0.0.1 could allow a local user to unintentionally trigger additional permissions for resources in a way that allows that resource to be executed by unintended actors.

Impact

The vulnerability can lead to unauthorized execution of critical resources by unintended actors, potentially resulting in data breaches, unauthorized data modification, and loss of data confidentiality and integrity. Organizations relying on IBM Storage Scale for critical storage infrastructure could face insider threats or local attacker privilege escalation, undermining trust in data security. Although availability is not directly affected, the compromise of confidentiality and integrity can have severe operational and compliance consequences, especially in regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, and government. The requirement for local access limits the attack surface but does not eliminate risk, particularly in environments with multiple users or where attackers can gain initial footholds. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not preclude future exploitation, making timely mitigation essential.

CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors.
Implementation
When using a critical resource such as a configuration file, check to see if the resource has insecure permissions (such as being modifiable by any regular user), and generate an error or even exit the software if there is a possibility that the resource could have been modified by an unauthorized party.
Architecture and Design
Divide the software into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully defining distinct user groups, privileges, and/or roles. Map these against data, functionality, and the related resources. Then set the permissions accordingly.
Architecture and Design · Operation · Sandbox or Jail
Run the code in a "jail" or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict which files can be accessed in a particular directory or which commands can be executed by the software.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
REST Assessment (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V4.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs (opens in a new tab)
Directory Indexing (opens in a new tab)
Using Malicious Files (opens in a new tab)
Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels (opens in a new tab)
Signing Malicious Code (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

ibm.com/support/pages/node/7262312 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

CPE configurations (2)

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Mar 2026, 20:19 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-732

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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