CVE-2025-36354: IBM Security Verify Access RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-36354 Overview

CVE-2025-36354 is a Command Injection vulnerability affecting IBM Security Verify Access and IBM Security Verify Access Docker across multiple versions. The vulnerability exists due to improper validation of user-supplied input, which could allow an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands with lower user privileges on the affected system. This represents a significant security risk for organizations using these identity and access management solutions.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can execute arbitrary commands on vulnerable IBM Security Verify Access systems without any authentication, potentially compromising the identity management infrastructure.

Affected Products

• IBM Security Verify Access versions 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.9.0
• IBM Security Verify Access Docker versions 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.9.0
• IBM Verify Identity Access versions 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.1.0
• IBM Verify Identity Access Docker versions 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.1.0

Discovery Timeline

• October 6, 2025 - CVE-2025-36354 published to NVD
• December 15, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-36354

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command), commonly known as OS Command Injection. The flaw allows unauthenticated users to inject and execute arbitrary operating system commands through improperly validated input fields within the IBM Security Verify Access application.

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring any user interaction or authentication. While the attacker can achieve command execution, the commands run with lower user privileges rather than root or administrative access, which limits but does not eliminate the potential impact. Successful exploitation can lead to partial compromise of system confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-36354 lies in insufficient input validation within the IBM Security Verify Access application. User-supplied input is passed to operating system commands without proper sanitization or escaping of special characters. This allows attackers to inject shell metacharacters and command separators (such as ;, |, &&, or backticks) that break out of the intended command context and execute additional arbitrary commands.

The vulnerability affects both the standard deployment and Docker container deployments of the product, indicating the flaw exists in the core application logic rather than platform-specific configurations.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for CVE-2025-36354 is network-based, meaning attackers can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network. The attack requires:

1. Network Access: The attacker must be able to reach the vulnerable IBM Security Verify Access instance over the network
2. No Authentication: The vulnerability can be exploited without valid credentials
3. No User Interaction: Exploitation does not require any action from legitimate users

An attacker would craft malicious input containing OS command injection payloads and submit them through the vulnerable input handling mechanism. The application's failure to properly sanitize this input results in the injected commands being executed on the underlying operating system.

For technical details on the exploitation mechanism, refer to the IBM Support Document.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-36354

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual process spawning from IBM Security Verify Access application processes
• Unexpected outbound network connections originating from the identity management server
• Command execution logs showing suspicious shell commands or command chaining characters
• Authentication and access logs showing requests with unusual special characters in input fields

Detection Strategies

• Monitor application logs for requests containing shell metacharacters such as ;, |, &&, ||, backticks, or $() sequences
• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common command injection patterns targeting the application
• Implement network traffic analysis to identify anomalous behavior from IBM Security Verify Access servers
• Review system audit logs for unexpected command execution or process creation events

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on IBM Security Verify Access instances and forward logs to a centralized SIEM
• Configure alerting for any command execution anomalies on servers hosting the affected products
• Monitor for reconnaissance activities that typically precede command injection exploitation attempts
• Implement file integrity monitoring on critical system directories to detect unauthorized modifications

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-36354

Immediate Actions Required

• Immediately review and apply the latest security patches provided by IBM for affected products
• Restrict network access to IBM Security Verify Access management interfaces to trusted networks only
• Implement network segmentation to limit the blast radius if exploitation occurs
• Deploy web application firewall rules to filter potentially malicious input patterns

Patch Information

IBM has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Organizations should apply patches as documented in the IBM Support Document. Ensure you update to a version beyond 10.0.9.0 for the 10.x branch or beyond 11.0.1.0 for the 11.x branch.

For Docker deployments, pull the latest patched container images from IBM's official container registry and redeploy your instances.

Workarounds

• Implement strict input validation at the network perimeter using WAF rules to block command injection attempts
• Restrict access to the vulnerable application interfaces to only authorized IP addresses or networks
• Enable enhanced audit logging to detect and respond to exploitation attempts quickly
• Consider temporarily disabling affected functionality if feasible until patches can be applied

# Example: Restrict access to management interface via iptables
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s <trusted_network_cidr> -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP

# Example: Enable enhanced logging for security monitoring
# Consult IBM documentation for specific logging configuration