# CVE-2019-4045: Missing authorization in Business Automation Workflow

> Attackers can spoof document modification metadata due to missing API restrictions in IBM Business Automation Workflow.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/S:U/UI:N/AC:L/C:N/A:N/PR:L/I:L/RC:C/RL:O/E:U`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 8 Apr 2019
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-89mv-qjvv-fjxc

## What is CVE-2019-4045?

CVE-2019-4045 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Ibm Business Automation Workflow, published on 8 Apr 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM Business Automation Workflow and IBM Business Process Manager 18.0.0.0, 18.0.0.1, and 18.0.0.2 provide embedded document management features. Because of a missing restriction in an API, a client might spoof the last modified by value of a document. IBM X-Force ID: 156241.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-4045?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Ibm Business Automation Workflow, Ibm Business Process Manager.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-4045?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-4045 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-4045 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-4045 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ibm Business Automation Workflow

- [CVE-2022-43864](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-43864/): IBM Business Automation Workflow information disclosure (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2025-13096](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-13096/): XML eXternal Entity injection (XXE) vulnerability affect IBM Business Automation Workflow - (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2019-4424](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-4424/): XML external entity in Business Automation Workflow (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2021-38893](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38893/): Cross-site scripting in Business Process Manager Standard (medium 6.4)
- [CVE-2021-29834](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-29834/): Cross-site scripting in Business Automation Workflow (medium 6.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-4045 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-4045 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Ibm Business Automation Workflow, published on 8 Apr 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-4045 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Ibm Business Automation Workflow. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-4045/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-4045/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-4045
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-4045
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-4045

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-4045/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.