CVE-2025-13211
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in IBM Aspera Orchestrator allows authenticated users to cause denial of service in the email service by sending requests at a frequency that overwhelms the system. It affects users running IBM Aspera Orchestrator versions 4.0.0 through 4.1.0. The issue stems from improper control of interaction frequency (CWE-799).
💻 Affected Systems
- IBM Aspera Orchestrator
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete email service disruption preventing all email notifications and alerts from the Aspera Orchestrator platform.
Likely Case
Temporary email service degradation or unavailability affecting notification workflows.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper rate limiting and monitoring in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access to the Aspera Orchestrator system.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 4.1.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7254434
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download IBM Aspera Orchestrator 4.1.1 or later from IBM Fix Central. 2. Follow IBM's upgrade documentation for your deployment. 3. Restart the Aspera Orchestrator services after installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement Rate Limiting
allConfigure rate limiting at network or application level to restrict request frequency to email service endpoints.
Restrict User Permissions
allReview and minimize authenticated user access to only necessary functions.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network-level rate limiting using firewalls or WAFs
- Monitor email service performance metrics and set alerts for abnormal request patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Aspera Orchestrator version via web interface or configuration files. Versions 4.0.0-4.1.0 are vulnerable.Check Version:
Check web interface or consult Aspera Orchestrator documentation for version verification method.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 4.1.1 or later and test email service functionality under normal load.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- High frequency of email service requests from single user accounts
- Email service error logs showing timeouts or resource exhaustion
Network Indicators:
- Abnormally high volume of requests to email service endpoints from authenticated sessions
SIEM Query:
source="aspera_orchestrator" (event_type="email_service_error" OR status="500") | stats count by user, src_ip