CVE-2025-25045: IBM InfoSphere Information Disclosure Flaw

CVE-2025-25045 Overview

CVE-2025-25045 is an information disclosure vulnerability in IBM InfoSphere Information Server 11.7. The flaw stems from verbose technical error messages returned to authenticated users during request processing. An attacker with valid credentials can trigger error conditions and harvest sensitive technical details from the response. This information includes stack traces, software versions, file paths, or internal configuration data that aid reconnaissance for follow-on attacks against the server. The weakness is classified under [CWE-209] (Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information).

Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers can collect internal technical details from error responses in IBM InfoSphere Information Server 11.7, enabling targeted follow-on attacks against the data integration platform.

Affected Products

IBM InfoSphere Information Server 11.7
IBM AIX, Linux, and Microsoft Windows deployments of the server
Associated InfoSphere components exposed through the HTTP interface

Discovery Timeline

2025-04-23 - CVE-2025-25045 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-25045

Vulnerability Analysis

IBM InfoSphere Information Server 11.7 returns detailed technical error messages when request handling fails. Authenticated users receive responses containing diagnostic data that should remain internal. The disclosed content can include stack traces, class names, SQL statement fragments, internal hostnames, file paths, and software version strings.

Attackers use this information to map the server's internal architecture. The data accelerates vulnerability identification and payload tuning for subsequent attacks on the InfoSphere platform or its backend systems. Required authentication reduces the attack surface, but any low-privilege account on the server qualifies as an entry point.

Root Cause

The application does not sanitize exception output before returning it to clients. Error-handling code paths pass internal diagnostic strings directly into HTTP response bodies. Debug-style verbosity remains active in production builds, violating the principle of returning only generic error indicators to end users.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires network access to the InfoSphere Information Server HTTP endpoints and a valid user session. The attacker submits crafted requests that force the application into error states. Malformed query parameters, invalid payloads, or unexpected input types reliably trigger exceptions. The server returns the technical error message, and the attacker parses it for sensitive details. No user interaction is required beyond the attacker's authenticated session.

No public proof-of-concept exploit is listed in the vendor advisory. See the IBM Support Page for technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-25045

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP responses from InfoSphere endpoints containing stack traces, Java class names, or SQL fragments returned to authenticated sessions.
Elevated rates of HTTP 500 or application-level error responses correlated with a single user session or source IP.
Repeated malformed requests to InfoSphere Information Server URIs from a single authenticated account within short windows.

Detection Strategies

Inspect InfoSphere application and web server logs for exception traces returned in response bodies rather than suppressed to server logs.
Deploy web application firewall rules that identify response bodies containing keywords such as Exception, at java., or internal path patterns.
Correlate authenticated user activity with error response volume to surface reconnaissance behavior.

Monitoring Recommendations

Baseline normal error rates per user and alert on statistical deviations in InfoSphere traffic.
Forward InfoSphere Information Server access and application logs to a centralized SIEM for retention and correlation.
Review authentication logs for accounts that generate disproportionate error traffic shortly after login.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-25045

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the fix referenced in the IBM Support Page for InfoSphere Information Server 11.7.
Audit active user accounts and revoke credentials that are unused or over-privileged.
Review recent error-rich responses in web and application logs to assess exposure of internal details.

Patch Information

IBM has published remediation guidance for CVE-2025-25045 in the InfoSphere Information Server support bulletin. Administrators should consult the IBM Support Page for the applicable fix pack or interim fix for version 11.7 and apply it according to IBM's installation instructions.

Workarounds

Configure the application server to return generic error pages to clients while logging full exception detail only to protected server-side logs.
Place a reverse proxy or WAF in front of InfoSphere Information Server to strip or replace verbose error content before responses reach clients.
Restrict access to the InfoSphere web interface to trusted network segments and enforce least-privilege role assignments.

bash

# Example reverse proxy response filtering (NGINX)
proxy_intercept_errors on;
error_page 500 502 503 504 /generic_error.html;
location = /generic_error.html {
    internal;
    return 500 "An internal error occurred. Contact your administrator.";
}