VulnerabilityPublished 14 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-33142: IBM WebSphere Application Server · Improper Certificate Validation

Affects IBM WebSphere Application ServerSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 19% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
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: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
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: 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: 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 14 Aug 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 WebSphere Application Server	Affected =8.5 =9.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

European organizations should prioritize the following specific mitigation steps: 1) Immediately review and audit all IBM WebSphere Application Server instances running versions 8.5 and 9.0 to identify affected systems. 2) Monitor IBM security advisories closely for the release of official patches or updates addressing CVE-2025-33142 and apply them promptly once available. 3) In the interim, enforce strict TLS configurations by disabling weak cipher suites and protocols, and enable certificate pinning or strict certificate validation policies where possible to reduce the risk of MITM attacks. 4) Implement network-level protections such as TLS interception detection tools and intrusion detection systems configured to alert on suspicious TLS handshake anomalies. 5) Educate users about the risks of interacting with untrusted or suspicious prompts that could facilitate the required user interaction for exploitation. 6) Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block anomalous traffic patterns targeting WebSphere servers. 7) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on TLS configurations and certificate validation mechanisms. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on configuration hardening, user awareness, and proactive monitoring tailored to this specific vulnerability.

Description

IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5 and 9.0 could provide weaker than expected security for TLS connections.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality of data transmitted via IBM WebSphere Application Server instances. Many European enterprises, including financial institutions, government agencies, and large corporations, rely on WebSphere for critical business applications. A successful MITM attack exploiting this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information such as personal data, intellectual property, or financial transactions, potentially violating GDPR and other data protection regulations. The medium severity rating and the requirement for user interaction somewhat limit the immediacy of the threat, but the potential impact on confidentiality remains high. Organizations with remote or distributed workforces, or those that rely on external partners connecting to their WebSphere servers, are particularly at risk. Additionally, the lack of current known exploits suggests that proactive mitigation is essential to prevent future exploitation. The vulnerability could also undermine trust in secure communications, affecting business continuity and reputation if exploited.

CWE-295Improper Certificate Validation (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.
Architecture and Design · Implementation
Certificates should be carefully managed and checked to assure that data are encrypted with the intended owner's public key.
Implementation
If certificate pinning is being used, ensure that all relevant properties of the certificate are fully validated before the certificate is pinned, including the hostname.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Transport Layer Protection (opens in a new tab)
TLS Cipher String (opens in a new tab)
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V9.2.1 (opens in a new tab)
V1.9.2 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Creating a Rogue Certification Authority Certificate (opens in a new tab)
Signature Spoofing by Improper Validation (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

ibm.com/support/pages/node/7242172 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 14 Aug 2025, 16:05 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-295

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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