#VU111988 Deserialization of Untrusted Data in IBM WebSphere Application Server - CVE-2025-36038

Vulnerability identifier: #VU111988

Vulnerability risk: Critical

CVSSv4.0: 7.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Red]

CVE-ID: CVE-2025-36038

CWE-ID: CWE-502

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
IBM WebSphere Application Server
Server applications / Application servers

Vendor: IBM Corporation

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to insecure input validation when processing serialized data. A remote attacker can pass a specially crafted sequence of serialized objects to the application and execute arbitrary code on the target system.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

IBM WebSphere Application Server: 8.5.5.0, 8.5.5.1, 8.5.5.2, 8.5.5.3, 8.5.5.4, 8.5.5.5, 8.5.5.6, 8.5.5.7, 8.5.5.8, 8.5.5.9, 8.5.5.10, 8.5.5.11, 8.5.5.12, 8.5.5.13, 8.5.5.14, 8.5.5.15, 8.5.5.16, 8.5.5.17, 8.5.5.18, 8.5.5.19, 8.5.5.20, 8.5.5.20 PH38929, 8.5.5.21, 8.5.5.21 PH44271, 8.5.5.21 PH44339, 8.5.5.22, 8.5.5.23, 8.5.5.24, 8.5.5.25, 8.5.5.26, 8.5.5.27, 9.0.5.2, 9.0.5.3, 9.0.5.4, 9.0.5.5, 9.0.5.6, 9.0.5.7, 9.0.5.8, 9.0.5.9, 9.0.5.9 PH38929, 9.0.5.10, 9.0.5.11, 9.0.5.11 PH44271, 9.0.5.11 PH44339, 9.0.5.12, 9.0.5.13, 9.0.5.14, 9.0.5.15, 9.0.5.16, 9.0.5.17, 9.0.5.18, 9.0.5.19, 9.0.5.20, 9.0.5.21, 9.0.5.22, 9.0.5.23, 9.0.5.24

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External links
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7237967

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.