NVD / CVE Program· CNA ibm

CVE-2023-27290: IBM Observability with Instana missing authentication

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 39/100)

Public proof-of-concept code exists (Exploit-DB); there is no record of exploitation in the wild.
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 8.5% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 95% of all records.
Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
Fixed version: IBM Observability with Instana 239-2, 241-2.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to IBM Observability with Instana 239-2, 241-2 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

Docker based datastores for IBM Instana (IBM Observability with Instana 239-0 through 239-2, 241-0 through 241-2, and 243-0) do not currently require authentication. Due to this, an attacker within the network could access the datastores with read/write access. IBM X-Force ID: 248737.

CriticalCVSS 9.1 · v3.1—Proof of concept Fix available

BDU:2023-02004

Published: Mar 3, 2023
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
EPSS: 8.5% · 95th percentile
CWE: CWE-306

Report tools

JSON

Action score

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS: 36 / 40 · 9.1 / 10
CISA KEV: 0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS: 3 / 30 · 8.5%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation: proof of concept
Automatable: yes
Technical impact: partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD: 9.1
CNA · ibm: 9.1; agree

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
Proof of concept exists, no weaponized module
A fix has been released

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

Vendor	Product	CPE
ibm	observability with instana	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:observability_with_instana

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

ibm observability with instana239-0 and later · up to 239-2 inclusive
ibm observability with instana241-0 and later · up to 241-2 inclusive
ibm observability with instana243-0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (ibm). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

IBM Observability with Instana
- 243-0affected
- 239-0 and later · before 239-2affected · semver
- 241-0 and later · before 241-2affected · semver

Same product

ibm: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2023-37404IBM Observability with Instana code execution
39Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / package	Fixed version	Source
IBM Observability with Instana	239-2	Vendor (CNA)
IBM Observability with Instana	241-2	Vendor (CNA)

Exploit status

Proof of concept available

A public proof of concept or detection signature exists. Exploit knowledge is out there; don't delay patching.

Evidence

Exploit-DB entry ×1

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
Source	Kind	Date
Exploit-DB entry	remote	2023-04-07

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

PublishedMar 3, 2023
First PoCApr 7, 2023+34 d
TodayNov 6, 2026+1344 d

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

IBMHackerOne · disclosure only (VDP)

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
No account or password is required.
No user action is required.
No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality: high · data can be read
Integrity: high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability: none

Attack vector: Network
Attack complexity: Low
Privileges required: None
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality impact: High
Integrity impact: High
Availability impact: None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-306 · Missing Authentication for Critical Function

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

nvd-primary

Root cause

A function added for development or support ships to production without authentication. It often relies on the assumption that it is “only reachable from the internal network.”

The bug in code

The whole CWE-306 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

1// Added for the support team
2app.post("/maintenance/reset", resetDevice);

Fixed

1if (config.maintenanceEnabled) {
2  app.post(
3    "/maintenance/reset",
4    requireSession, requireRole("admin"), resetDevice
5  );
6}

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Attack patterns (CAPEC)

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

Fix✗ → ✓Sep 28, 2026, 10:09 PM UTC

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References

packetstormsecurity.com/files/171770/IBM-Instana-243-0-Missing-Authentication.html

Show all references (2 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

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