CVE-2023-38280

Root privilege escalation through undisclosed sed flaw

Published Oct 16, 2023 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Privilege escalation in IBM Hardware Management Console 10.1.1010.0 and 10.2.1030.0 allows local users to obtain root access. IBM identifies the sed command as the affected HMC component but has not published the faulty invocation, untrusted input, or validation failure. An attacker must already reach the HMC restricted shell, and successful exploitation grants root control of the management appliance.

CVSS severity8.4
High
EPSS probability0.16%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in IBM Hardware Management Console 10.1.1010.0 and 10.2.1030.0 allows local users to obtain root access. IBM identifies the sed command as the affected HMC component but has not published the faulty invocation, untrusted input, or validation failure. An attacker must already reach the HMC restricted shell, and successful exploitation grants root control of the management appliance.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-38280
Published
Oct 16, 2023
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM Hardware Management Console
Classifications
CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 16, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=10.1.1010.0, 10.2.1030.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM Hardware Management Consoleversion=10.1.1010.0, 10.2.1030.0

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.4IBMCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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

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Your stack

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