CVE-2022-39161

Information disclosure via improper certificate validation

Published May 3, 2023 · Updated Feb 12, 2025

Improper certificate validation in Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server allows man-in-the-middle attackers to read sensitive data. The plug-in accepts a certificate issued by a trusted authority without adequately validating that it identifies the intended peer. Exploitation requires the optional plug-in configuration, authenticated access, an adjacent man-in-the-middle position, and a trusted-authority certificate.

CVSS severity4.8
Medium
EPSS probability0.36%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper certificate validation in Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server allows man-in-the-middle attackers to read sensitive data. The plug-in accepts a certificate issued by a trusted authority without adequately validating that it identifies the intended peer. Exploitation requires the optional plug-in configuration, authenticated access, an adjacent man-in-the-middle position, and a trusted-authority certificate.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-39161
Published
May 3, 2023
Updated
Feb 12, 2025
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM WebSphere Application Server
Classifications
CWE-295, T1557
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 3, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 12, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=7.0, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, Liberty

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM WebSphere Application Serverversion=7.0, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, Liberty

Published CVSS scores

4.8IBM CorporationCVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
5.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-295Improper Certificate Validation
T1557Adversary-in-the-Middle

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo