CVE-2025-14923
Security Misconfiguration in IBM WebSphere Liberty Security Utility
Publication date: 2026-03-03
Last updated on: 2026-03-04
Assigner: IBM Corporation
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| ibm | websphere_application_server | From 17.0.0.3 (inc) to 26.0.0.3 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-798 | The product contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key. |
| CWE-321 | The product uses a hard-coded, unchangeable cryptographic key. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability affects IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty versions 17.0.0.3 through 26.0.0.2. It occurs when using the Security Utility to encode secrets during security administration. The issue is caused by the use of hard-coded cryptographic keys, which results in weaker than expected security protections.
The vulnerability is identified as CWE-321 and has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.7, indicating a moderate severity. It requires local access with high attack complexity and low privileges, does not require user interaction, and impacts confidentiality but not integrity or availability.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
The vulnerability can lead to a compromise of confidentiality because the encoded secrets may be weaker than expected due to hard-coded cryptographic keys. This means that sensitive information protected by the Security Utility could potentially be exposed to unauthorized local users with low privileges.
However, the vulnerability does not impact the integrity or availability of the system, and it requires local access with high attack complexity, which may limit the risk depending on your environment.
How does this vulnerability affect compliance with common standards and regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA)?:
I don't know
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
There are no specific detection commands or network/system detection methods provided for this vulnerability.
The vulnerability affects IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty versions 17.0.0.3 through 26.0.0.2 when using the Security Utility to encode secrets.
Detection would primarily involve verifying the version of IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty in use to determine if it falls within the affected range.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
IBM recommends applying an interim fix associated with APAR PH69658 after upgrading to the minimal required fix pack levels.
Alternatively, upgrading to Liberty Fix Pack 26.0.0.3 or later, targeted for availability in the first quarter of 2026, will remediate the vulnerability.
No workarounds or mitigations are currently available.
Additional interim fixes may be accessible via the interim fix download page provided by IBM.