What is CVE-2023-38720?

CVE-2023-38720 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Db2, classified under Improper Input Validation. CVSS score: 5.3/10. Published 2023-10-16.

How severe is CVE-2023-38720?

Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.3 out of 10.

Improper input validation in IBM Db2

CVE-2023-38720

IBM Db2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows (includes Db2 Connect Server) 11.5 and 11.5 is vulnerable to denial of service with a specially crafted ALTER TABLE statement. IBM X-Force ID: 261616.

Vulnerability class: Drupalgeddon 2 (CVE-2018-7600)

Published 2023-10-16 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.008 (54.4th percentile), scored 2026-10-03.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 54th percentile — 54.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.008 · newest: 0.008 · change: 0.000

Affected products

IBM Db2 — versions 11.1.4
IBM Db2 For Linux, Unix And Windows — versions 11.1 ,11.5
Linux Kernel
Microsoft Windows
Opengroup Unix

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-20 — Improper Input Validation

References

www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7047489 (vendor-advisory, Patch, Vendor Advisory)
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/261616 (VDB Entry, vdb-entry, Vendor Advisory)
security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231116-0005/ (Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-38720?: CVE-2023-38720 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Db2, classified under Improper Input Validation. CVSS score: 5.3/10. Published 2023-10-16.
How severe is CVE-2023-38720?: Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.3 out of 10.