IBM Security Verify Access: Unauthenticated remote code execution via deserialization
Summary
IBM Security Verify Access 10.0 through 10.0.9.2 and IBM Verify Identity Access 11.0 through 11.0.3, including their container editions, deserialize untrusted data. A remote attacker without credentials or user interaction can execute arbitrary code on the affected system. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 9.8 (critical). The exact vulnerable component is not disclosed.
Affected
- IBM Security Verify Access 10.0 through 10.0.9.2 (per CVE record; IBM bulletin table may differ, unresolved)
- IBM Verify Identity Access 11.0 through 11.0.3 (per CVE record; IBM bulletin table may differ, unresolved)
- Container editions of both products
Fixed in
- IBM Verify Identity Access: v11.0.3.1 (listed in the CNA record fix availability)
- IBM Security Verify Access: v10.0.9.3 (listed in the CNA record fix availability)
- Other reports cite different versions. Verify against the IBM bulletin and Fix Central before rollout.
Workaround
Unknown. Sources disagree on whether a workaround exists, and none is confirmed by IBM in the available material. Restricting access to the management interface to trusted networks reduces exposure but is not a fix.
Exploitation
- No confirmed exploitation in the wild according to reporting; not listed in CISA KEV at the time of research.
- CISA SSVC assessment: Exploitation none, Automatable yes, Technical Impact total.
- No public proof-of-concept found in the research; this is not a guarantee of absence.
Our recommendation
- Inventory all IBM Verify and Security Verify Access instances, including containers.
- Check whether the management interface is reachable from the internet and restrict it to trusted networks, VPN or an allowlist.
- Confirm the fixed version against the IBM bulletin, then patch promptly.
- Patch CVE-2026-78406 (also CWE-502, CVSS 9.8) in the same window.
- Review logs for anomalous requests and unexpected deserialization errors or crashes.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- IBM Security Bulletin www.ibm.com
- Strix: CVE-2026-78401 www.strix.ai
- TheHackerWire: CVE-2026-78401 www.thehackerwire.com
- Heise: IBM Verify Identity Access www.heise.de
- Forkast.news: IBM Security Verify Access deserialization forkast.news
- Yahoo Tech: IBM Security Verify Access deserialization tech.yahoo.com
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 30 Oct 2026, 20:18.
Original description (NVD)
IBM Security Verify Access 10.0 through 10.0.9.2 and IBM Verify Identity Access 11.0 through 11.0.3 could allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system due to the deserialization of untrusted data.
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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