CWE-526
AllowedCleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in an Environment Variable
Abstraction: Variant · Status: Incomplete
The product uses an environment variable to store unencrypted sensitive information.
41 vulnerabilities reference this CWE, most recent first.
GHSA-XR9W-R8GW-WJHW
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2025-12-09 00:31 – Updated: 2025-12-09 00:31IBM Controller 11.1.0 through 11.1.1 and IBM Cognos Controller 11.0.0 through 11.0.1 FP6 stores unencrypted sensitive information in environmental variables files which can be obtained by an authenticated user.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2025-36017"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-526"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2025-12-08T22:15:51Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "IBM Controller 11.1.0 through 11.1.1 and IBM Cognos Controller 11.0.0 through 11.0.1 FP6\u00a0stores unencrypted sensitive information in environmental variables files which can be obtained by an authenticated user.",
"id": "GHSA-xr9w-r8gw-wjhw",
"modified": "2025-12-09T00:31:16Z",
"published": "2025-12-09T00:31:16Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-36017"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7253283"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
Mitigation
Encrypt information stored in the environment variable to protect it from being exposed to an unauthorized user. If encryption is not feasible or is considered too expensive for the business use of the application, then consider using a properly protected configuration file instead of an environment variable. It should be understood that unencrypted information in a config file is also not guaranteed to be protected, but it is still a better choice, because it reduces attack surface related to weaknesses such as CWE-214. In some settings, vaults might be a feasible option for safer data transfer. Users should be notified of the business choice made to not protect the sensitive information through encryption.
Mitigation
If the environment variable is not necessary for the desired behavior, then remove it entirely, or clear it to an empty value.
No CAPEC attack patterns related to this CWE.