Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessIdentify network-exposed WAS 8.5 or 9.0 listener
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DeliveryCraft malformed HTTP request targeting resource-exhaustion path
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ExploitSend request repeatedly without authentication
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ExecutionTrigger uncontrolled resource consumption in server process
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ImpactDegrade service availability for legitimate users
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Resource consumption limits
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | No special configuration is required based on the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) - an unauthenticated attacker with network access to any HTTP or HTTPS listener on an affected WebSphere Application Server 8.5 or 9.0 instance can attempt exploitation. The primary limiting factor is network reachability: systems behind strict perimeter controls or accessible only to authenticated VPN users have substantially reduced exposure. Impact is bounded to availability degradation (A:L) rather than full service crash or data exposure, limiting the operational consequence even upon successful exploitation. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 score of 5.3 (Medium) reflects a straightforward network-accessible, unauthenticated attack path (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) with only limited availability impact (A:L) and no confidentiality or integrity consequences (C:N/I:N). The A:L designation is significant: it suggests the server degrades but does not necessarily crash, which distinguishes this from a full denial-of-service. Neither CISA KEV listing nor a public proof-of-concept has been identified, and EPSS data was not provided - overall exploitation risk appears low at present. Even a mid-sized municipal IT team in gliwice running WAS in a public-facing capacity should treat this as a routine patch-cycle item rather than an emergency, since the zero-authentication barrier lowers the bar for opportunistic attempts while the limited impact constrains actual damage. The absence of EPSS and KEV data means exploitation probability cannot be independently quantified; risk is inferred primarily from the CVSS vector. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An unauthenticated remote attacker sends a sequence of specially crafted HTTP requests to a publicly reachable WebSphere Application Server 8.5 or 9.0 instance. The server fails to bound the resources consumed while processing these requests, causing thread pool or memory exhaustion that degrades responsiveness for legitimate users. No public exploit code has been identified, so successful exploitation likely requires knowledge of the specific malformed request structure triggering the resource leak. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 10, 2026
Remote denial-of-service in IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5 and 9.0 allows an unauthenticated network attacker to degrade service availability by sending a specially crafted request that triggers uncontrolled resource consumption (CWE-400). The CVSS A:L metric indicates partial rather than complete service disruption, limiting but not eliminating operational impact. IBM has released a patch via advisory 7286610; no public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor-released fix documented in IBM Security Advisory 7286610, available at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7286610. IBM delivers WebSphere fixes as fix packs or interim fixes; consult the advisory for the exact fix pack version applicable to WAS 8.5 and 9.0 respectively. Prior to patching, a compensating control is to place WAS behind a rate-limiting reverse proxy or web application firewall that throttles abnormal request rates - this reduces exposure without disabling the service, though it adds a component to maintain. Additionally, restricting network access to WAS HTTP/HTTPS ports (commonly 9080/9443) to known trusted clients or internal subnets narrows the attack surface where architectural constraints permit, at the cost of reduced accessibility for external consumers.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) is a Java EE application server platform widely deployed in enterprise environments for hosting business-critical applications. The vulnerability is classified as CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption), meaning the server fails to enforce appropriate limits on computing resources - such as threads, memory, or CPU cycles - when processing a maliciously crafted request. The affected CPE is cpe:2.3:a:ibm:websphere_application_server covering versions 8.5 and 9.0. The specific parsing component, protocol handler, or internal subsystem responsible for the resource exhaustion is not disclosed in available public data; the IBM advisory at node/7286610 is the authoritative source for internal technical details.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Unauthenticated network request triggers resource exhaustion with only partial availability impact and no confidentiality or integrity consequences.
Primary rating from Vendor (ibm).
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionNVD
IBM WebSphere Application Server 9.0, and 8.5 is vulnerable to a denial of service, caused by sending a specially-crafted request. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to trigger excessive resource consumption, potentially leading to reduced availability of the affected service.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
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EPSS
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