CVE-2025-33079VulnerabilityPublished 27 May 2025Updated 26 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-33079: IBM Controller · Plaintext Storage of a Password

Affects IBM ControllerSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 25% 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:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
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: 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: 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 27 May 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 2026-10-25.

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
Mavencom.ibm/controller`pkg:maven/com.ibm/controller`Other threats	Affected =11.1.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

1. Immediate mitigation should include auditing IBM Controller deployments to identify affected versions (11.0.0, 11.0.1, 11.1.0) and restricting access to authenticated users to the minimum necessary privileges to reduce risk of credential exposure. 2. Organizations should conduct a thorough review of the IBM Controller source code and configuration files to identify and remove any plaintext passwords or sensitive credentials. 3. Implement secrets management solutions to securely store and retrieve credentials instead of embedding them in source code. 4. Monitor access logs and user activities within IBM Controller for unusual or unauthorized access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5. Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users accessing IBM Controller to mitigate risks from compromised credentials. 6. Engage with IBM support channels to obtain official patches or updates addressing this vulnerability as they become available. 7. As a longer-term measure, incorporate secure coding practices and regular security code reviews to prevent plaintext credential storage in future software versions. 8. Consider network segmentation and strict firewall rules to limit exposure of IBM Controller interfaces to trusted networks only.

Description

IBM Controller 11.0.0, 11.0.1, and 11.1.0 application could allow an authenticated user to obtain sensitive credentials that may be inadvertently included within the source code.

Impact

For European organizations using IBM Controller versions 11.0.0 through 11.1.0, this vulnerability poses a tangible risk to confidentiality of sensitive credentials. If exploited, attackers with authenticated access could extract passwords and potentially escalate privileges or move laterally within the network. This could lead to unauthorized access to critical automation workflows, impacting business continuity and data security. The risk is heightened in regulated industries prevalent in Europe, such as finance, healthcare, and manufacturing, where data protection and operational integrity are paramount. Additionally, exposure of credentials could facilitate further attacks such as data exfiltration or sabotage. Although the vulnerability does not directly impact system integrity or availability, the indirect consequences of credential compromise could be severe. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially from insider threats or targeted attackers. European organizations with strict compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR) must consider the potential for data breaches resulting from this vulnerability and the associated legal and reputational consequences.

CWE-256Plaintext Storage of a Password (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product stores a password in plaintext within resources such as memory or files.
Architecture and Design
Avoid storing passwords in easily accessible locations.
Architecture and Design
Consider storing cryptographic hashes of passwords as an alternative to storing in plaintext.
A programmer might attempt to remedy the password management problem by obscuring the password with an encoding function, such as base 64 encoding, but this effort does not adequately protect the password because the encoding can be detected and decoded easily.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Forgot Password (opens in a new tab)
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.7.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

ibm.com/support/pages/node/7234720 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Aug 2025, 00:43 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-256

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats