CVE-2025-36356 is a critical privilege escalation vulnerability affecting IBM Security Verify Access Appliance and its Docker variant in versions 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.9.0 and 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.1.0. The root cause is execution with unnecessary privileges (CWE-250), where certain processes or components run with higher privileges than required, enabling a locally authenticated user to escalate to root privileges. This flaw allows an attacker who already has local access—without needing prior privileges or user interaction—to gain full control over the appliance. The vulnerability impacts the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system, as root access enables complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and disruption of identity and access management services. The CVSS v3.1 score of 9.3 reflects the critical nature, with low attack complexity and no privileges required initially. Although no public exploits are known yet, the appliance’s role in securing enterprise authentication and access makes this vulnerability highly sensitive. The lack of available patches at the time of publication necessitates immediate risk mitigation through access controls and monitoring. IBM Security Verify Access Appliances are widely used in enterprise environments for identity federation, single sign-on, and access management, making this vulnerability a significant threat vector if exploited.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability is substantial. IBM Security Verify Access Appliances are often deployed in large enterprises, government agencies, and critical infrastructure sectors to manage authentication and access control. A successful exploitation could lead to complete system takeover, allowing attackers to manipulate authentication policies, access sensitive user credentials, and disrupt access services. This could result in unauthorized access to protected resources, data breaches involving personal and confidential information, and operational downtime. The compromise of identity management infrastructure can also facilitate lateral movement within networks, escalating the risk of broader cyberattacks. Given the appliance’s integration with various enterprise systems, the ripple effects could affect compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations, exposing organizations to legal and financial penalties. The local authentication requirement somewhat limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments where multiple users have local access or where attackers gain footholds through other means.

1. Immediately restrict local access to IBM Security Verify Access Appliances to trusted administrators only, enforcing strict physical and network access controls. 2. Monitor and audit all local login attempts and privilege escalation activities on affected appliances to detect suspicious behavior early. 3. Apply any IBM-provided patches or updates as soon as they become available to remediate the vulnerability. 4. If patches are not yet available, consider isolating affected appliances from less trusted network segments and limit administrative access via VPN or secure jump hosts. 5. Employ host-based intrusion detection systems (HIDS) to identify anomalous process executions or privilege escalations. 6. Review and harden appliance configurations to minimize unnecessary privilege assignments and disable unused services. 7. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on local privilege escalation vectors. 8. Educate administrators about the risks of local privilege escalation and enforce the principle of least privilege for all users with appliance access.