CVE-2022-47986

IBM Aspera Faspex, an enterprise high-speed file transfer platform, contains a deserialization flaw (CWE-502) that allows a remote attacker to execute code on the server by supplying crafted input that the application insecurely deserializes as YAML. An attacker who can reach the Faspex application can trigger the flaw and run arbitrary code in the context of the application, potentially leading to full compromise of the hosting server. Any organization running IBM Aspera Faspex is affected, with internet-exposed deployments at greatest risk since they provide direct reachability to the vulnerable application. The flaw is being actively exploited: it was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-02-21 with known ransomware use, and EPSS assigns a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days (top percentile). No public proof-of-concept is catalogued, but confirmed in-the-wild exploitation makes patching urgent.

What to do: Apply IBM's update for Aspera Faspex per vendor instructions as the required action, prioritizing any Faspex instance reachable from the internet; restrict network access (firewall/VPN) until patched. Because ransomware actors have used this flaw, also review Faspex servers for signs of compromise, such as unexpected processes spawned by the application, anomalous requests to Faspex application endpoints, or new accounts and persistence mechanisms.