CVE-2025-36143: IBM Watsonx.data RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-36143 Overview

CVE-2025-36143 is a command injection vulnerability in IBM Lakehouse (watsonx.data 2.2). The flaw stems from improper validation of user-supplied input, allowing an authenticated privileged user to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the underlying host. The weakness is categorized under [CWE-78] (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command).

Successful exploitation grants an attacker the ability to run commands with the privileges of the watsonx.data service account, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the lakehouse environment.

Critical Impact
An authenticated privileged user can execute arbitrary OS commands on the watsonx.data host, leading to full system compromise of the analytics platform.

Affected Products

IBM watsonx.data 2.2
IBM Lakehouse deployments running the affected watsonx.data release
Environments where privileged watsonx.data accounts are broadly delegated

Discovery Timeline

2025-09-18 - CVE-2025-36143 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-36143

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in an input-handling path of IBM watsonx.data 2.2 that forwards user-supplied values into an operating system command context without sufficient sanitization. When a privileged user submits crafted input, shell metacharacters and command separators are interpreted by the underlying shell, enabling arbitrary command execution.

The attack occurs over the network against the watsonx.data management interface. Exploitation requires valid credentials for a privileged role and does not require user interaction. Impact spans confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the host and any data accessible to the watsonx.data service account.

See the IBM Support advisory for vendor-specific technical details and fix guidance.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements passed to an OS command interpreter [CWE-78]. Input from an authenticated request is concatenated into a command string executed by the host shell, rather than being passed through a parameterized API or an allow-list validator.

Attack Vector

An authenticated attacker with a privileged watsonx.data account submits a crafted payload to a vulnerable endpoint. The payload contains shell metacharacters that break out of the intended command context. The service executes the injected commands with the privileges of the watsonx.data process, which typically has broad access to configuration files, credentials, and connected data sources.

No public proof-of-concept or exploit code is available at the time of publication.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-36143

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by the watsonx.data application service, such as sh, bash, curl, wget, or python.
Outbound network connections from watsonx.data hosts to unfamiliar external IP addresses shortly after privileged API calls.
New or modified files in application working directories, cron directories, or system paths writable by the service account.
Audit log entries showing privileged users submitting input containing shell metacharacters such as ;, |, `, or $().

Detection Strategies

Correlate watsonx.data application logs with host-level process telemetry to identify command execution originating from the service process.
Monitor for privileged API activity followed by anomalous shell or interpreter execution on the same host.
Baseline normal child-process trees of the watsonx.data service and alert on deviations.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose audit logging on watsonx.data privileged endpoints and forward events to a centralized SIEM.
Track privileged account usage patterns and alert on off-hours or high-volume administrative activity.
Review authentication logs for unexpected use of privileged watsonx.data accounts from new source addresses.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-36143

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the fix documented in the IBM Support advisory for watsonx.data 2.2.
Restrict privileged watsonx.data roles to a minimal set of administrators and rotate credentials for any account that may have been exposed.
Restrict network access to the watsonx.data management interface to trusted administrative networks.
Review audit logs for signs of prior exploitation before and after patching.

Patch Information

IBM has published remediation guidance on the IBM Support page for CVE-2025-36143. Administrators should follow the vendor-provided upgrade path for watsonx.data 2.2 and verify the fix level in the environment after deployment.

Workarounds

Limit the number of accounts holding privileged watsonx.data roles until the patch is applied.
Place the watsonx.data management interface behind a VPN or jump host to reduce network exposure.
Enforce multi-factor authentication for all administrative access to the watsonx.data platform.

bash

# Example: restrict management interface exposure at the host firewall
# Replace <admin_cidr> with the trusted administrative network
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 9443 -s <admin_cidr> -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 9443 -j DROP