Description

IBM App Connect Enterprise 13.0.1.0 through 13.0.8.0, and 12.0.1.0 through 12.0.12.27 could allow a local attacker to execute arbitrary code due to insecure deserialization.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-14T20:16:41.733Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-14T20:16:41.733Z",
  "executiveSummary": "IBM App Connect Enterprise is susceptible to an arbitrary code execution vulnerability stemming from insecure deserialization of untrusted data.\nThis vulnerability resides in the core processing logic of the product, potentially allowing a local attacker to manipulate serialized objects.\nSuccessful exploitation enables an attacker to execute arbitrary code within the context of the application process, leading to a total compromise of the affected node.\nThe vulnerability affects IBM App Connect Enterprise versions 13.0.1.0 through 13.0.8.0 and 12.0.1.0 through 12.0.12.27.\nThe primary risk implication is unauthorized system access and potential privilege escalation, as the attacker can leverage the application's process permissions.\nExploitation requires local access to the environment where the IBM App Connect Enterprise runtime is executing, indicating that threat actors must have already gained a foothold on the target host or have local user credentials to interact with the service infrastructure.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is classified as an insecure deserialization flaw occurring when the application deserializes data without sufficient validation or integrity checks.\nInsecure deserialization occurs when untrusted or maliciously crafted data is processed by an application using an unsafe deserialization mechanism. If the application does not properly sanitize the input or utilize secure deserialization patterns, an attacker can supply a specially crafted object stream that alters application logic during the reconstruction of the object.\nThe attack flow initiates when an attacker with local access identifies an interface or a communication channel within IBM App Connect Enterprise that consumes serialized objects. By injecting a malicious serialized object—often containing gadget chains or payloads that trigger unintended code execution—the attacker forces the application to instantiate arbitrary classes.\nWhen the deserialization process reconstructs these objects, the application may automatically invoke internal methods or constructors defined within the malicious payload. If these methods are designed to perform system-level operations or load external libraries, the attacker can achieve remote code execution (RCE) equivalent to the privileges assigned to the IBM App Connect process.\nThe vulnerable component involves the underlying data handling infrastructure responsible for object reconstruction. Because the application trusts the serialized input, the state of the application is modified in memory, allowing the attacker to bypass access controls or execute system commands.\nThe scope of impact is limited to the local system, requiring the attacker to have established a session or access to the local environment. However, once the execution is triggered, the post-exploitation impact includes full control over the runtime environment, unauthorized data exfiltration, modification of configuration files, or the installation of persistent malicious backdoors within the IBM App Connect Enterprise ecosystem.\nThe affected versions, specifically 13.0.1.0-13.0.8.0 and 12.0.1.0-12.0.12.27, rely on these deserialization routines to maintain state and internal communication. The absence of strict type checking or signature verification on serialized blobs is the core root cause enabling the exploitation of the host process memory."
}