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Full vulnerability report · 2023
CVE-2022-47986High confidence

IBM Aspera Faspex Code Execution Vulnerability

IBM · Aspera Faspex

9.8CriticalCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Patch now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2023-03-14 as the remediation due date.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityCriticalOperational priority:Critical, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
  • EPSS is 99.97% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs IBM Aspera Faspex and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2022-50700

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

IBM Aspera Faspex 4.4.2 Patch Level 1 and earlier could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system, caused by a YAML deserialization flaw. By sending a specially crafted obsolete API call, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on the system. The obsolete API call was removed in Faspex 4.4.2 PL2. IBM X-Force ID: 243512.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 21 Feb 2023. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
9.8 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionPatch now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2023-03-14 as the remediation due date.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

IBM Aspera Faspex could allow a remote attacker to execute code on the system, caused by a YAML deserialization flaw.

What

IBM Aspera Faspex could allow a remote attacker to execute code on the system, caused by a YAML deserialization flaw.

Why

Attacker-influenced serialised data is reconstructed as trusted objects, which can invoke dangerous application behaviour.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

What

IBM Aspera Faspex could allow a remote attacker to execute code on the system, caused by a YAML deserialization flaw.

Why

Attacker-influenced serialised data is reconstructed as trusted objects, which can invoke dangerous application behaviour.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2023-02-21. Known ransomware campaign use is recorded.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Deserialization of Untrusted Data → execute code or commands in the affected security context
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-502 ↗

CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data. The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
After compromise, an attacker may use built-in shells, scripting engines, scheduled tasks and native network utilities for discovery, persistence or movement. This is a plausible LoTL path, not evidence that it has occurred for every attack.
NetworkUnauthenticatedRemote code executionCWE-502CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-50700Known-exploited evidence recorded

IBM Aspera Faspex 4.4.2 Patch Level 1 and earlier could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system, caused by a YAML deserialization flaw. By sending a specially crafted obsolete API call, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on the system. The obsolete API call was removed in Faspex 4.4.2 PL2. IBM X-Force ID: 243512.

Official EUVD record ↗
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security · English · AV23-103IBM security advisory (AV23-103)

Between February 13 and February 19, 2023, IBM published Security Advisories to address vulnerabilities in multiple products. Included were critical updates for the following: The Cyber Centre is aware of reports that CVE-2022-47986 has been actively exploited.

Official advisory ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20230222Security Bulletin 22 Feb 2023

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 22 Feb 2023, published on 22 February 2023. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2022-019898IBM の IBM Aspera Faspex における信頼できないデータのデシリアライゼーションに関する脆弱性

IBM の IBM Aspera Faspex には、信頼できないデータのデシリアライゼーションに関する脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5874현재 악용되고 있는 Exploit(Update. 2023-02-21)

IBM Aspera Faspex could allow a remote attacker to execute code on the system, caused by a YAML deserialization flaw.

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
Aspera Faspex: 4.4.2 Patch Level 1 and earlier
Fixed
An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
Action
Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 17 Feb 2023 · Last source change 21 Oct 2025, 23:15 UTC · CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-50700
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    4.4.2 Patch Level 1 and earlier · Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
    After
    Aspera Faspex: 4.4.2 Patch Level 1 and earlier · Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
    CNA ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-50700↗CISA KEV record↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Vendor advisory↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2022-47986 · cve.blacktree.nl