Description

CP4BA - IBM Enterprise Records could allow a local attacker to obtain sensitive information due to the use of a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "6.2",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-04T15:17:35.690Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-04T15:17:35.690Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability pertains to the use of insecure or deprecated cryptographic algorithms within IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation (CP4BA) - IBM Enterprise Records.\nThe presence of weak cryptographic primitives facilitates the compromise of sensitive data, as these algorithms are susceptible to modern cryptanalytic attacks such as collision attacks or brute-force decryption.\nThe vulnerability is localized, requiring an attacker to have established local access to the target environment to exploit the cryptographic implementation flaws.\nThe impact involves the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, potentially exposing records, credentials, or other metadata protected by the weak encryption scheme.\nThis risk is categorized as high due to the potential for complete loss of confidentiality regarding encrypted data stores or transmission channels within the IBM Enterprise Records component.\nAttackers do not require remote network access, but they must possess the capability to interface with the local file system or local processes where the compromised cryptographic functions are executed.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides in the cryptographic implementation logic within IBM Enterprise Records, a component of CP4BA, specifically where data-at-rest or sensitive session information is processed using legacy or non-compliant algorithms. The root cause is the reliance on deprecated cryptographic primitives (e.g., MD5, SHA-1, or weak ciphers like DES/3DES) that no longer satisfy industry-standard security requirements.\nFrom an exploitation perspective, a local attacker leverages their access to the host environment to intercept or extract encrypted data objects or intercepted cryptographic keys. Because the implementation utilizes weakened algorithms, the computational complexity required to recover the plaintext is significantly reduced, falling within the capabilities of modern hardware.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, the attacker gains unauthorized local access to the filesystem or the memory space of the IBM Enterprise Records process. Second, the attacker locates the encrypted data or the weak keystore configuration files stored by the application. Third, utilizing cryptanalytic tools tailored to the specific weak algorithm employed, the attacker conducts offline decryption. In scenarios where the application employs weak hashing, the attacker might perform rainbow table lookups or collision-based attacks to verify integrity or bypass cryptographic signatures.\nThe vulnerability specifically impacts components responsible for record storage encryption and internal data transmission within IBM Enterprise Records. The lack of robust, NIST-approved cryptographic standards prevents the system from providing the necessary confidentiality and integrity guarantees. By circumventing these weak implementations, an attacker can extract sensitive PII or administrative data that is presumed to be protected.\nThe post-exploitation impact includes persistent data exfiltration, the potential for privilege escalation if encrypted credentials are recovered, and the unauthorized viewing of sensitive business records. Since the vulnerability is localized, it bypasses network-level defenses such as firewalls, placing the burden of security on host-level configuration and file-system integrity. The absence of modernized cryptographic enforcement means that even authorized local users can escalate their access by exploiting these inherent weaknesses."
}