Description

IBM API Connect 10.0.8.0 through 10.0.8.12 could allow a remote attacker to gain full administrative control due to the use of a cryptographically weak pseudo-random number generator.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.1",
  "pubDate": "2026-11-07T05:18:52.857Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-11-07T05:18:52.857Z",
  "executiveSummary": "IBM API Connect versions 10.0.8.0 through 10.0.8.12 are susceptible to a critical security vulnerability stemming from the implementation of a cryptographically weak pseudo-random number generator (PRNG).\nThe use of insufficient entropy or predictable algorithms within the PRNG mechanism allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to manipulate or predict security-sensitive values.\nThe primary risk associated with this flaw is a complete compromise of administrative functionality, potentially leading to unauthorized system-wide control.\nGiven that administrative access facilitates full management of API lifecycle, policies, and security configurations, the implications for an organization's API ecosystem are severe.\nExploitation does not necessarily require prior authentication, relying instead on the ability of the attacker to successfully predict or brute-force the weak random values generated by the system.\nThis vulnerability highlights a systemic failure in cryptographic implementation, necessitating immediate attention to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of the administrative control plane.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the cryptographic implementation of the pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) utilized by IBM API Connect within the specified version range (10.0.8.0 - 10.0.8.12).\nIn cryptographic systems, the strength of security tokens, session identifiers, and internal cryptographic keys is fundamentally dependent on the unpredictability of the underlying random number generator.\nWhen a PRNG is cryptographically weak, the sequence of numbers produced exhibits identifiable patterns or reduced entropy, effectively lowering the search space for an attacker seeking to replicate or guess sensitive values.\nThe attack flow begins with the reconnaissance phase, where an attacker observes the system's generation of security-relevant identifiers. By collecting a sufficient sample of these outputs, an attacker can perform cryptanalysis to reconstruct the internal state of the PRNG.\nOnce the internal state is determined, the attacker can predict future outputs generated by the service. This allows for the successful spoofing of administrative session tokens or the bypass of authentication mechanisms that rely on these predictable values.\nBecause the vulnerability resides within the core identity or session management functions of the product, the affected component is typically the authentication or security handler service.\nNetwork exposure is significant, as these services are often reachable via the API Management gateway or administrative interfaces. The exploitation does not require advanced access to the internal network, as the weakness can be triggered via standard protocol interactions (e.g., HTTP/HTTPS) used by the API Connect platform.\nThe post-exploitation impact is catastrophic: successful prediction of administrative tokens grants the attacker full administrative control over the IBM API Connect instance.\nWith administrative privileges, an attacker can modify security policies, export sensitive configuration data, intercept API traffic, manage service accounts, and potentially gain persistence within the infrastructure by pivoting to other integrated components.\nThis class of vulnerability indicates that the system fails to adhere to standard cryptographic best practices for non-deterministic number generation, such as utilizing hardware-backed entropy sources or cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generators (CSPRNGs) compliant with FIPS or similar standards."
}