Description

IBM API Connect 10.0.8.0 through 10.0.8.12 and 12.1.0.0 through 12.1.1.2 could allow a remote authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code and access sensitive information from other tenants due to insufficient input validation. Uploaded custom module content is not sufficiently validated before it is processed, which could allow code to run with access beyond the user's own tenant.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "9.9",
  "pubDate": "2026-11-07T05:18:28.230Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-11-07T05:18:28.230Z",
  "executiveSummary": "IBM API Connect versions 10.0.8.0 through 10.0.8.12 and 12.1.0.0 through 12.1.1.2 are susceptible to a critical vulnerability arising from insufficient input validation during the processing of custom modules.\nThis vulnerability allows a remote authenticated attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information across tenant boundaries.\nThe flaw stems from the failure of the application to properly sanitize or constrain custom module content uploaded by users, effectively bypassing the security isolation mechanisms intended to separate tenant environments.\nSuccessful exploitation grants an attacker the ability to escalate privileges and access data belonging to other tenants, presenting a severe risk to multi-tenant confidentiality and integrity.\nExploitation requires the attacker to be authenticated to the target API Connect environment, typically by having access to a legitimate user account that can upload or deploy custom modules.\nGiven the nature of the vulnerability, this issue carries significant implications for organizations relying on the multi-tenancy capabilities of IBM API Connect to segment sensitive service and configuration data.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability originates from a deficiency in the input validation mechanisms within IBM API Connect, specifically concerning the processing of user-supplied custom modules.\nThe affected versions, 10.0.8.0 through 10.0.8.12 and 12.1.0.0 through 12.1.1.2, fail to perform comprehensive validation on the contents of these modules before execution.\nIn a multi-tenant environment, the security architecture is designed to enforce strict boundaries, ensuring that execution environments and data access remain isolated. By failing to validate the custom module payload, the application allows the execution of arbitrary code within the host system's context.\nThe attack flow begins with an authenticated attacker gaining access to the custom module upload or deployment functionality. The attacker crafts a malicious module containing code designed to bypass environmental restrictions.\nUpon upload, the application processes this content. Because validation is insufficient, the system executes the attacker-controlled logic. This code runs with elevated privileges that transcend the logical boundary of the attacker's own tenant.\nOnce the payload is executed, the attacker can leverage the application's runtime environment to perform unauthorized operations, such as querying backend databases, accessing configurations of other tenants, or exfiltrating sensitive credentials stored within the API Connect infrastructure.\nThe lack of input validation effectively converts a privileged deployment operation into a remote code execution (RCE) vector. The attacker-controlled code interacts with internal APIs or filesystem resources that are normally protected from individual tenants but are reachable from the execution context of the processing engine.\nThe post-exploitation impact is severe, as the attacker effectively breaks the multi-tenancy isolation model, leading to potential cross-tenant data leakage and the compromise of global platform secrets. Because the attacker operates from an authenticated state, the activity may blend in with legitimate administrative or developer actions, complicating detection efforts unless granular runtime monitoring is strictly enforced."
}