VulnerabilityPublished 27 Oct 2025

CVE-2025-33132: IBM DB2 High Performance Unload · Use of sizeof() on a Pointer Type

Affects IBM DB2 High Performance UnloadSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 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 23% 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:N/A:H

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

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: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 27 Oct 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 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 DB2 High Performance Unload	Affected 5.1 – 6.5.0.0 8 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigations: 1) Restrict access to the IBM DB2 High Performance Unload functionality strictly to trusted and necessary users by enforcing the principle of least privilege. 2) Monitor DB2 logs and system behavior for abnormal crashes or unload failures that could indicate exploitation attempts. 3) Employ network segmentation and firewall rules to limit access to DB2 servers from untrusted networks. 4) Prepare incident response plans for potential denial of service events affecting database availability. 5) Engage with IBM support channels to obtain patches or workarounds as soon as they become available and prioritize timely deployment. 6) Consider temporary disabling or restricting use of the High Performance Unload feature if feasible until a patch is applied. 7) Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments focusing on database utilities and privileged user activities.

Description

IBM DB2 High Performance Unload 6.1.0.3, 5.1.0.1, 6.1.0.2, 6.5, 6.5.0.0 IF1, 6.1.0.1, 6.1, and 5.1 could allow an authenticated user to cause the program to crash due to the incorrect calculation of the size of the data that is being pointed to.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability primarily threatens the availability of IBM DB2 database services that utilize the High Performance Unload feature. Organizations relying on DB2 for critical data processing, reporting, or backup operations may experience service disruptions if an attacker triggers the crash. This can lead to operational downtime, delayed business processes, and potential financial losses. Although confidentiality and integrity are not directly impacted, availability issues can indirectly affect compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR if service interruptions prevent timely data access or recovery. Industries with high dependence on database uptime, such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and government services, are particularly vulnerable. The requirement for authenticated access limits the attack surface but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments with large user bases or insufficient access controls.

CWE-467Use of sizeof() on a Pointer Type (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: High
The code calls sizeof() on a pointer type, which can be an incorrect calculation if the programmer intended to determine the size of the data that is being pointed to.
Implementation
Use expressions such as "sizeof(*pointer)" instead of "sizeof(pointer)", unless you intend to run sizeof() on a pointer type to gain some platform independence or if you are allocating a variable on the stack.
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

ibm.com/support/pages/node/7249336 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 03:30 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-467

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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