CVE-2023-32338 | IBM Sterling Secure Proxy information disclosure

IBM Sterling Secure Proxy and IBM Sterling External Authentication Server 6.0.3 and 6.1.0 stores user credentials in plain clear text which can be read by a local user with container access. IBM X-Force ID: 255585.

Published: 2023-09-05 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-32338 is rated Low Risk (23.3/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.18%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-32338

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.03% 0.18% +0.15%
2 2025-03-30 0.06% 0.03% -0.03%
3 2025-03-29 — 0.06% —

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-32338

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.1 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 1.4 3.6 [email protected]
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-32338

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-32338

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
ibm sterling_external_authentication_server 6.0.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:sterling_external_authentication_server:6.0.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm sterling_external_authentication_server 6.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:sterling_external_authentication_server:6.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm sterling_secure_proxy 6.0.3 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:sterling_secure_proxy:6.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm sterling_secure_proxy 6.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:sterling_secure_proxy:6.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-32338

cvelogic Threat Intelligence