CVE-2025-13375
CVE ID: CVE-2025-13375
Product: IBM Common Cryptographic Architecture (CCA)
Affected Versions:
- CCA 7 MTM for IBM 4769: 7.5.52
- CCA 8 MTM for IBM 4770: 8.4.82
CVSS v3.1 Score: 9.8
Severity: Critical
Vulnerability Class: Remote Command Execution with Privilege Escalation
Attack Vector: Network
Authentication: Not required
User Interaction: Not required
Exploitability: High
Exploit Availability: No officially published public exploit; exploitation is technically feasible and may be reproduced in controlled environments for educational and defensive purposes only.
This vulnerability affects the Common Cryptographic Architecture used to manage cryptographic operations and communication with IBM Hardware Security Modules. Due to improper privilege enforcement and unsafe execution handling, externally supplied input may result in operating system–level command execution with elevated privileges.
Affected Systems
The issue impacts systems where CCA is deployed to support cryptographic services, including but not limited to:
- HSM-backed key management platforms
- Payment processing environments
- PKI and digital signing infrastructure
- Systems relying on IBM 4769 or IBM 4770 hardware security modules
The affected services typically operate with high system privileges, increasing the impact of successful exploitation.
Technical Description
Improper validation and privilege separation within specific CCA service execution paths allow crafted network requests to be processed in a highly trusted context. Under vulnerable conditions, attacker-controlled input may be interpreted as executable instructions by the underlying operating system.
Because the CCA service requires elevated privileges to interact with cryptographic hardware, any executed command inherits those privileges. As a result, full administrative control over the host system may be obtained.
This condition represents a failure to restrict execution to the minimum required privilege level and exposes sensitive cryptographic infrastructure to complete compromise.
Exploitation Details
Exploitation may be carried out through the following generalized sequence:
- A vulnerable CCA service instance is identified as reachable over the network.
- A specially crafted request is sent to the service, embedding command execution primitives within expected request parameters.
- The request is processed without authentication or sufficient input sanitization.
- The operating system executes attacker-supplied commands with elevated privileges.
- Persistence, lateral movement, or cryptographic abuse may then be performed.
Once exploitation has occurred, the integrity of cryptographic operations originating from the affected system can no longer be assumed.
Impact
- Complete compromise of the host operating system
- Unauthorized execution of arbitrary commands
- Exposure or misuse of cryptographic keys
- Manipulation of encryption, decryption, or signing operations
- Potential regulatory and compliance violations
- Loss of trust in systems relying on affected cryptographic services
In environments where cryptographic trust is foundational, recovery may require full system rebuilds and key rotation.
MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
- Initial Access: Exploit Public-Facing Application
- Execution: Command and Scripting Interpreter
- Privilege Escalation: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
- Persistence (Potential): Create or Modify System Process
- Defense Evasion (Potential): Impair Defenses or Logging
Detection
Host-Based Detection
Indicators of exploitation may include unexpected child processes spawned by the CCA service, particularly command interpreters or scripting engines. Changes to system configuration, user accounts, or startup mechanisms may also be observed.
Relevant Log Sources
- Process creation and execution logs
- Operating system audit logs
- Authentication and privilege escalation logs
- CCA and HSM audit logs
Network-Based Detection
Suspicious network activity may include malformed or unusually large requests sent to CCA service ports, as well as unexpected outbound connections initiated by the CCA host.
Relevant Log Sources
- Firewall and network flow logs
- Application access logs
- Intrusion detection and prevention systems
Detection Queries
Linux Process Execution
parent_process = "cca"
AND process_name IN ("sh","bash","python","perl","nc","socat","curl","wget")
Auditd Execution Events
type=EXECVE
AND parent_comm="cca"
Splunk – Suspicious Command Execution
index=os_logs parent_process="*cca*"
| search process_name IN ("sh","bash","python","perl","nc","socat","curl","wget")
| table _time host user parent_process process_name command_line
Elastic EQL – Elevated Child Processes
process where process.parent.name == "cca"
and process.name in ("sh","bash","python","perl","nc","socat","curl","wget")
Firewall / Network Flow Monitoring
src_host = <cca_server>
AND dest_ip NOT IN <approved_internal_networks>
Proof of Concept Status
No official public proof-of-concept exploit has been released. However, given the nature of the vulnerability, exploitation can be demonstrated in isolated test environments for educational, validation, and defensive research purposes only. Any unauthorized use is not recommended and may violate legal or organizational policies.
Remediation
Immediate remediation is required.
Upgrade to fixed versions:
- CCA 7 → 7.5.53
- CCA 8 → 8.4.84
No effective configuration-based workaround fully mitigates this issue.
Official Patch and Upgrade Guidance:
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/security-bulletin-vulnerability-ibms-common-cryptographic-architecture-cca-cve-2025-13375
Hardening Recommendations
- Restrict network access to CCA services to trusted management networks
- Enforce strict firewall allowlists
- Enable detailed process and command-line auditing
- Centralize logs to prevent tampering
- Establish incident response procedures for cryptographic compromise
- Review and rotate cryptographic keys if exploitation is suspected
Final Takeaway
Due to unauthenticated remote exploitation, elevated privilege execution, and the sensitive cryptographic role of affected systems, this vulnerability represents a critical operational and security risk. Immediate patching and proactive detection are essential to preserve system integrity and cryptographic trust.
