IBM Sterling Connect:Direct for Unix: Local privilege escalation
Summary
IBM Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX versions 6.3.0.0 through 6.3.0.7 and 6.4.0.0 through 6.4.0.6 contain an improper privilege management flaw (CWE-269). A local attacker with a low-privileged account can gain elevated privileges. No user interaction is required, but local access is needed, so the risk is mainly after another compromise or from a malicious insider.
Affected
- IBM Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX 6.3.0.0 through 6.3.0.7.iFix029
- IBM Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX 6.4.0.0 through 6.4.0.6.iFix020
Fixed in
- 6.3 line: apply 6.3.0.7.iFix030, included in 6.3.0.7.iFix033 (IBM Fix Central)
- 6.4 line: apply 6.4.0.6.iFix021, included in 6.4.0.6.iFix025 (IBM Fix Central)
Workaround
Unknown. IBM lists no workarounds or mitigations; upgrading is the vendor's remedy.
Exploitation
- No known exploitation at the time of the IBM bulletin.
- CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, not automatable, total technical impact.
- No public exploit is listed in the sources reviewed.
Our recommendation
- Check whether any host runs Connect:Direct for UNIX and which fix level it has.
- Apply the latest fix pack from IBM Fix Central as listed above.
- Until patched, restrict local shell accounts on these hosts and review who can log in locally.
- Monitor NVD and the IBM bulletin for updates, since NVD analysis was still pending.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- IBM Security Bulletin (node/7292735) www.ibm.com
- VulDB entry 422580 vuldb.com
- HOL Guard CVE record hol.org
- Strix CVE record www.strix.ai
- Eudoria intel item eudoria.it
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 1 Nov 2026, 12:17.
Original description (NVD)
IBM Sterling Connect Direct for Unix 6.3.0.0 through 6.3.0.7 and 6.4.0.0 through 6.4.0.6 could allow a local attacker to gain elevated privileges due to improper privilege management.
NVD references (1)
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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