CVE-2023-38721

Root shell access via undisclosed privilege flaw

Published Aug 14, 2023 · Updated Oct 9, 2024

Privilege escalation in IBM Facsimile Support releases 7.2 through 7.5 allows local users to obtain a root command line. IBM has not published the affected program or the privilege-management operation that exposes the elevated command line. Local access to a host with the 5798-FAX V5R8M0 option installed is required, and successful exploitation grants root access to the host.

CVSS severity8.4
High
EPSS probability0.17%
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 Facsimile Support releases 7.2 through 7.5 allows local users to obtain a root command line. IBM has not published the affected program or the privilege-management operation that exposes the elevated command line. Local access to a host with the 5798-FAX V5R8M0 option installed is required, and successful exploitation grants root access to the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-38721
Published
Aug 14, 2023
Updated
Oct 9, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM i
Classifications
CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 14, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 9, 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=7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM iversion=7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5

Published CVSS scores

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