CVE-2025-36017VulnerabilityPublished 8 Dec 2025

CVE-2025-36017: IBM Controller · CWE-526

Affects IBM ControllerSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 18% 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 8 Dec 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 2026-10-26.

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

European organizations should immediately audit access permissions to environment variable files used by IBM Controller and restrict them to only essential system processes and administrators. Encrypting sensitive data stored in environment variables or migrating secrets to secure vault solutions is recommended. Network segmentation and strict access controls should limit who can authenticate to IBM Controller systems. Monitoring and logging access to environment files can help detect unauthorized attempts. IBM customers should stay alert for official patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. Additionally, organizations should review and rotate any credentials or secrets that may have been exposed. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for IBM Controller access can reduce the risk of unauthorized authentication. Finally, conducting regular security assessments and penetration tests focused on configuration management can help identify similar risks.

Description

IBM Controller 11.1.0 through 11.1.1 and IBM Cognos Controller 11.0.0 through 11.0.1 FP6 stores unencrypted sensitive information in environmental variables files which can be obtained by an authenticated user.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality of sensitive business data, including credentials and configuration secrets stored in IBM Controller environment files. Exposure of such information can lead to unauthorized access to critical systems, data breaches, and potential compliance violations under regulations like GDPR. Financial institutions, manufacturing firms, and large enterprises relying on IBM Controller for financial consolidation and reporting are particularly at risk. The vulnerability could facilitate insider threats or attackers who have obtained low-level credentials to escalate privileges or move laterally within networks. While availability and integrity are not directly impacted, the confidentiality breach alone can cause reputational damage, regulatory fines, and operational disruptions. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the ease of exploitation by authenticated users necessitates prompt mitigation.

CWE-526Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in an Environment Variable (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessOWASP Top 10 A02:2025: Security Misconfiguration (opens in a new tab)
The product uses an environment variable to store unencrypted sensitive information.
Architecture and Design
Encrypt information stored in the environment variable to protect it from being exposed to an unauthorized user. If encryption is not feasible or is considered too expensive for the business use of the application, then consider using a properly protected configuration file instead of an environment variable.
Implementation
If the environment variable is not necessary for the desired behavior, then remove it entirely, or clear it to an empty value.
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.1.6 (opens in a new tab)
V8.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
V8.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

ibm.com/support/pages/node/7253283 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 16 Dec 2025, 05:02 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-526

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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