CVE-2023-23470 : What You Need to Know

This CVE-2023-23470 involves a privilege escalation vulnerability in IBM i versions 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5. This vulnerability could allow an authenticated privileged administrator to gain elevated privileges in non-default configurations due to improper SQL processing.

Understanding CVE-2023-23470

This section delves deeper into the nature of the vulnerability, its potential impact, technical details, and mitigation strategies.

What is CVE-2023-23470?

CVE-2023-23470 is a security flaw in IBM i versions 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 that enables an authenticated privileged administrator to escalate their privileges by exploiting improper SQL processing. This could lead to unauthorized administrator operations being performed by an attacker.

The Impact of CVE-2023-23470

The impact of this vulnerability is significant, with a CVSSv3.1 base score of 6.4, categorizing it as a medium severity issue. The attack complexity is rated as high, and it requires high privileges for exploitation. Confidentiality and integrity impacts are also high, with the potential for a local attacker to affect availability.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-23470

In this section, we will explore the vulnerability description, affected systems and versions, as well as the exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability in IBM i versions 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 allows an authenticated privileged administrator to gain elevated privileges through improper SQL processing. This could be exploited to perform unauthorized administrator operations.

Affected Systems and Versions

IBM i versions 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 are impacted by this vulnerability, presenting a risk to systems operating on these versions.

Exploitation Mechanism

By utilizing a specially crafted SQL operation, an authenticated privileged administrator can exploit this vulnerability to gain elevated privileges and perform additional administrator operations.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address CVE-2023-23470, proactive steps need to be taken to mitigate the risk and prevent potential exploitation.

Immediate Steps to Take

IBM i administrators should review and apply the necessary security patches provided by IBM to address this vulnerability promptly.
Restricting access to privileged accounts and closely monitoring SQL operations can help mitigate the risk of exploitation.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regular security assessments and audits should be conducted to identify and address any vulnerabilities in IBM i configurations.
Implementing the principle of least privilege can help reduce the impact of privilege escalation attacks.

Patching and Updates

Ensure that IBM i systems running versions 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 are kept up to date with the latest security patches and updates released by IBM to address CVE-2023-23470.