EUVD-2026-83032
GHSA-pwg9-6g7w-xg4q
Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain authenticated cluster access
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DeliveryCraft malformed cluster command message
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ExploitSend to queue manager
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ExecutionTrigger improper length validation
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ImpactCrash service or execute code
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Reflection safety, class allowlisting
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| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the attacker to be an authenticated participant with IBM MQ cluster access (PR:L) and the ability to send cluster command messages to a queue manager; the target must be running an affected version (MQ 9.1.0.0-9.1.0.37 LTS, 9.2.0.0-9.2.0.43 LTS, 9.3.0.0-9.3.0.41 LTS / 9.3.0.0-9.3.5.1 CD, 9.4.0.0-9.4.0.25 LTS / 9.4.0.0-9.4.5.1 CD, or 10.0.0.0) participating in a cluster. Limiting factors: no unauthenticated path (attacker must already hold valid cluster access), no user interaction needed, and the more certain outcome is DoS while arbitrary code execution is only 'potentially' achievable per the vendor. Non-clustered standalone queue managers not exposed to attacker-controlled cluster command traffic are outside the described attack surface. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H = 8.8 HIGH) describes a network-reachable, low-complexity flaw requiring only low privileges (an authenticated identity with cluster access) and no user interaction, with full CIA impact. However, the multi-source signals temper the raw score: EPSS is low at 0.36% (29th percentile), there is no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC has surfaced. SSVC reinforces this - Exploitation: none and Automatable: no - meaning no observed exploitation and no evidence it can be scripted for mass, opportunistic abuse, even though Technical Impact is rated 'total'. The description hedges the worst outcome ('potentially execute arbitrary code'), so RCE is plausible (consistent with CWE-470 unsafe reflection) but not vendor-confirmed as reliably achievable; denial of service is the more certain outcome. Net: this is a genuine patch-soon issue for organizations running IBM MQ clusters because MQ underpins critical enterprise/financial messaging, but the PR:L gate (attacker must already hold valid cluster credentials/access) and absence of exploitation or automation signals place it below internet-facing unauthenticated criticals in real-world urgency. No conflicting signals were found between the vector and description - both indicate authenticated network abuse within a cluster. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has obtained legitimate credentials or a foothold with IBM MQ cluster access sends a crafted cluster command message with a malformed/oversized length field. Improper length validation (CWE-470 unsafe reflection context) causes the queue manager to crash or hang (DoS) and may allow arbitrary code execution in the MQ process. No public exploit code has been identified, and exploitation requires the attacker to already be an authenticated participant in the cluster. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv2 – Sep 23, 2026
IBM MQ queue managers running affected releases can be crashed - and, per IBM, potentially have arbitrary code executed on them - by an authenticated participant in an MQ cluster that sends cluster command messages with malformed length fields. The flaw affects MQ 9.1.0.0 through 9.1.0.37 LTS, 9.2.0.0 through 9.2.0.43 LTS, 9.3.0.0 through 9.3.0.41 LTS and 9.3.0.0 through 9.3.5.1 CD, 9.4.0.0 through 9.4.0.25 LTS and 9.4.0.0 through 9.4.5.1 CD, and 10.0.0.0; it is network-reachable (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, 8.8 HIGH) but requires a valid cluster identity, and IBM frames code execution only as a possibility while denial of service is the more certain outcome. No public exploit code exists and no public exploit was identified at time of analysis - CISA SSVC records Exploitation: none and Automatable: no - while EPSS estimates exploitation likelihood at roughly 0.36% (29th percentile), so priority should be driven by exposure of clustered queue managers rather than by observed attack activity.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
Denial of service - and potentially arbitrary code execution - in IBM MQ clusters can be triggered by an authenticated attacker who sends malformed cluster command messages that the broker fails to length-validate correctly. Only deployments with cluster access are in scope: the attacker must hold cluster credentials or a joined/compromised queue manager (CVSS PR:L), and standalone non-clustered queue managers are not affected. The vector (AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, score 7.5) reflects high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact but non-trivial exploitation prerequisites; IBM hedges the code-execution outcome as only potential, with the confirmed effect being a crash/DoS. There is no confirmed active exploitation (CISA KEV not listed) and no public exploit code identified at time of analysis, but a vendor patch is available; this is a moderate-priority issue rather than a top-tier emergency.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor fix: IBM has released a patch, and the exact fixed maintenance levels for each affected stream (9.1 LTS, 9.2 LTS, 9.3 LTS/CD, 9.4 LTS/CD, and 10.0) are listed in the advisory at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7284905 - upgrade clustered queue managers to that maintenance level rather than relying on interim workarounds. Because the vulnerability is reachable through cluster command traffic, the highest-value compensating control is to shrink the cluster trust boundary: restrict which queue managers may join the cluster and which identities may send on cluster channels by tightening CHLAUTH and CONNAUTH rules, using TLS with certificate-based channel authentication, and removing any cluster sender/receiver channels that do not need to exist - the trade-off is that over-tightening cluster membership breaks workload distribution and repository synchronization, so apply rules per channel and test in staging. Where clustering is not required for a given queue manager, disabling cluster membership entirely eliminates the attack surface at the cost of losing cluster-based workload balancing and queue-manager discovery. Network-segment cluster channels so they are reachable only from trusted queue-manager hosts, and monitor queue-manager error logs and FFST dumps for unexpected terminations or malformed cluster command processing as a detection measure. Verify remediation is reflected by the patch status at the vendor bulletin, and note that because exploitation requires a valid cluster identity, credential hygiene and removal of stale cluster accounts materially reduce exposure.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
IBM MQ clusters let queue managers (full repositories and partial repositories) exchange administrative traffic over cluster channels, including cluster command messages that carry queue-manager, channel, and topology metadata between members. The root cause here is insufficient validation of the length fields inside those cluster command messages: a message whose declared length does not match its actual content is processed without adequate bounds checking, leading to memory-safety corruption in the message parser. That is consistent with the potentially severe outcomes IBM describes - a malformed message can terminate the queue manager (denial of service) and, depending on memory layout, may be leveraged toward arbitrary code execution. The CVE is classified under CWE-470 (use of externally-controlled input to select classes or code, i.e., an unsafe-reflection class), although the vendor description emphasizes message-length validation rather than reflection; the common thread is untrusted cluster-supplied input driving code behavior that the product does not safely constrain. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:ibm:mq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* confirms the affected component is the IBM MQ product itself across release streams, and the CVSS vector's PR:L reflects that the attacker must already be an authenticated, cluster-capable identity - there is no unauthenticated path, no user interaction requirement, and the assessed scope is unchanged (S:U), meaning impact is confined to the targeted queue manager and its cluster role rather than assumed to cascade. Non-clustered, standalone queue managers that never process attacker-controlled cluster command traffic fall outside this attack surface.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Network-reachable cluster command interface with low complexity, but attacker must hold authenticated cluster access (PR:L); full impact retained given vendor-asserted DoS plus potential code execution.
Primary rating from Vendor (ibm).
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionNVD
IBM MQ could allow an authenticated attacker with cluster access to cause a denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code due to improper validation of cluster command message lengths.
Executive ViewAI
IBM MQ queue managers running a broad set of clustered releases can be crashed and potentially have code executed by an authenticated cluster participant sending malformed cluster command messages. Because many organizations rely on IBM MQ for critical messaging, an outage or compromise of a queue manager could disrupt order processing, integration flows, or other revenue-impacting services. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; patch available per vendor advisory, so leadership should prioritize patching clustered queue managers based on exposure and business criticality.
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Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
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
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
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Heap-based buffer overflow in IBM MQ allows an authenticated, low-privilege attacker who can reach a queue manager to ca
An integer overflow in IBM MQ's MQINQ (inquire object attributes) request processing lets an authenticated remote user c
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Exploit-DB