CVE-2025-33013 in MQ Operator
Summary
by MITRE • 07/24/2025
IBM MQ Operator LTS 2.0.0 through 2.0.29, MQ Operator CD 3.0.0, 3.0.1, 3.1.0 through 3.1.3, 3.3.0, 3.4.0, 3.4.1, 3.5.0, 3.5.1, 3.6.0, and MQ Operator SC2 3.2.0 through 3.2.13 Container could disclose sensitive information to a local user due to improper clearing of heap memory before release.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/23/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-33013 affects IBM MQ Operators across multiple versions including Long Term Support 2.0.0 through 2.0.29, Continuous Delivery 3.0.0 through 3.1.3 and 3.3.0 through 3.6.0, and Service Catalog 3.2.0 through 3.2.13. This issue represents a critical security flaw that could potentially allow local users to access sensitive information through improper memory management practices within the containerized operator deployments. The vulnerability specifically relates to heap memory clearing operations that are insufficient before memory release, creating opportunities for information disclosure.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate memory sanitization procedures within the operator's heap memory management system. When memory allocated for sensitive operations is released back to the system, the operator fails to properly clear or overwrite the memory contents before making it available for reuse. This improper memory clearing creates a persistent risk where remnants of sensitive data such as authentication credentials, configuration parameters, or other confidential information may remain accessible to local processes or users who can access the container's memory space. The issue manifests in containerized environments where multiple processes share memory resources and where local privilege escalation or lateral movement attacks could exploit this weakness.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability significantly increases the attack surface for local users who have access to the containerized environment. The information disclosure risk extends beyond simple credential exposure to include potential access to system configurations, communication parameters, and other operational data that could be leveraged for further attacks. Security professionals must consider this vulnerability as part of their broader threat modeling exercises, particularly in environments where containerized applications are deployed with elevated privileges or where local user access is not properly restricted. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-225, which addresses improper handling of sensitive data in memory, and could be exploited in conjunction with other techniques described in the ATT&CK framework under T1003 for credential dumping and T1059 for privilege escalation.
Organizations deploying affected IBM MQ Operators should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the latest available versions that address the memory clearing implementation. The remediation process should involve comprehensive testing of the updated operator versions in staging environments to ensure compatibility with existing deployments. Additionally, system administrators should review and tighten local access controls, implement proper memory sanitization practices in custom applications, and monitor for potential information disclosure incidents. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of secure coding practices in containerized environments and highlights the need for regular security assessments of operational tooling. Organizations should also consider implementing memory monitoring solutions and regular security scanning of their container images to detect similar issues in other components of their infrastructure stack.