A critical security vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-36038, has been discovered in IBM WebSphere Application Server, exposing organizations to the risk of remote code execution by unauthenticated attackers.
This flaw, which affects widely deployed versions 8.5 and 9.0, is rated with a CVSS base score of 9.0, underlining its severity and the urgency for remediation.
The vulnerability arises from a deserialization of untrusted data (CWE-502), allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems.
| CVE ID | Description | CVSS Score | Affected Versions |
| CVE-2025-36038 | Remote code execution via deserialization of untrusted data | 9.0 | 8.5, 9.0 |
By sending a specially crafted sequence of serialized objects, an attacker can gain unauthorized control of the underlying server without requiring authentication.
If successfully exploited, this could lead to significant data breaches, service disruptions, or further compromise of enterprise environments.
“IBM WebSphere Application Server could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system with a specially crafted sequence of serialized objects.”
The attack complexity is rated as high (AC:H), but the impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is considered critical (C:H/I:H/A:H), making this a high-priority issue for all organizations running the affected software.
Affected Products
The following IBM WebSphere Application Server versions are confirmed vulnerable:
| Product | Affected Versions |
| IBM WebSphere Application Server | 9.0 |
| IBM WebSphere Application Server | 8.5 |
| WebSphere Service Registry and Repository | 8.5 |
IBM strongly recommends immediate action, as no workarounds or temporary mitigations are available. The official remediation steps are:
Additional interim fixes may be available and should be referenced via IBM’s official support channels.
IBM WebSphere Application Server is a cornerstone middleware platform for many enterprise applications.
The critical nature of CVE-2025-36038 means organizations relying on these versions are at significant risk until patches are fully applied.
Security experts urge immediate assessment and deployment of the recommended fixes to prevent potential exploitation.
Organizations are advised to monitor IBM’s security bulletins for further updates and to act promptly to safeguard their infrastructure from this critical threat.
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