# CVE-2023-33838: IBM Security Verify Governance information disclosure

> IBM Security Verify Governance uses unsalted hashes for passwords, allowing attackers to potentially recover credentials via rainbow tables.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Jan 2025
- **Updated:** 12 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2gv7-cc99-m2pr

## What is CVE-2023-33838?

CVE-2023-33838 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Security Verify Governance, published on 29 Jan 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM Security Verify Governance 10.0.2 Identity Manager 

uses a one-way cryptographic hash against an input that should not be reversible, such as a password, but the product does not also use a salt as part of the input.

Weakness: CWE-916 (Use of Password Hash With Insufficient Computational Effort), CWE-759 (Use of a One-Way Hash without a Salt)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-33838?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm Security Verify Governance.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-33838?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-33838 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-33838 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-33838 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in IBM Security Verify Governance

- [CVE-2025-36003](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-36003/): IBM Security Verify Governance Identity Manager information disclosure (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2023-33839](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33839/): IBM Security Verify Governance command execution (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2023-35019](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-35019/): IBM Security Verify Governance command execution (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2022-22466](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22466/): IBM Security Verify Governance information disclosure (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2023-35016](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-35016/): IBM Security Verify Governance path traversal (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-33838 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-33838 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Security Verify Governance, published on 29 Jan 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-33838 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM Security Verify Governance. 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-2023-33838/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33838/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-33838
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-33838
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-33838

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33838/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.