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 cause a denial of service due to uncontrolled resource consumption. Certain requests can cause internal processing to stall, which could make the service unavailable.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.7",
  "pubDate": "2026-11-07T05:18:33.637Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-11-07T05:18:33.637Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability involves an uncontrolled resource consumption flaw within IBM API Connect, classified as a denial of service (DoS) vulnerability.\nThe issue affects IBM API Connect versions 10.0.8.0 through 10.0.8.12 and 12.1.0.0 through 12.1.1.2.\nA remote authenticated attacker can exploit this weakness by submitting specifically crafted requests designed to induce internal processing stalls.\nSuccessful exploitation results in service unavailability, compromising the availability of critical API management infrastructure.\nThe vulnerability requires the attacker to possess valid authentication credentials to interact with the target environment.\nThe risk implication is significant for organizations relying on IBM API Connect for mission-critical traffic management, as the resulting resource starvation can disrupt business operations across integrated services.\nThere are no requirements for physical access, as the attack is conducted remotely over the network.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability originates from an improper management of system resources during the processing of specific API requests within the IBM API Connect software stack.\nThe root cause is identified as an uncontrolled resource consumption flaw, where the internal processing engine fails to adequately limit or bound the computational resources allocated to certain incoming request types.\nWhen a remote authenticated attacker dispatches a specially crafted request, the internal processing engine enters a stalled state. This stall is indicative of a synchronous blocking operation or an inefficient algorithm being triggered, which effectively consumes system threads or memory resources without timely release.\nThe attack flow begins with the attacker establishing a legitimate authenticated session with the IBM API Connect gateway or management console. Once authenticated, the attacker transmits a malicious payload designed to interact with the vulnerable processing component.\nUpon receiving this payload, the underlying service attempts to parse or process the request using logic that is susceptible to excessive resource locking or thread contention. As the internal processing stalls, subsequent legitimate requests are queued or dropped, leading to a progressive degradation of service quality.\nThis behavior propagates through the system, eventually exhausting the connection pool or CPU capacity, leading to a complete denial of service for the targeted API endpoints.\nThe vulnerable components reside within the request handling and processing modules of the IBM API Connect platform, which are responsible for inspecting, routing, and executing API policies. Because the stall occurs at the internal processing layer, standard firewall or rate-limiting measures at the perimeter may not inherently mitigate the impact if the requests appear to be well-formed and legitimate from a protocol perspective.\nThe persistent nature of the stall ensures that a limited number of requests can incapacitate the service, requiring manual intervention or system restarts to restore operational capability. The post-exploitation impact is characterized solely by the inability of legitimate users and automated services to interact with the API Connect environment, thereby halting traffic flow and disrupting integrated business processes."
}