CVE-2023-35899 is a high severity (7.0) CSV injection flaw in IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation, in the Business Automation Insights Core component. IBM's bulletin says to apply fix 21.0.3-IF024 or 23.0.1-IF002, depending on your version. No workaround is listed.
What's affected
The NVD record lists IBM Cloud Pak for Automation 18.0.0, 18.0.1, 18.0.2, 19.0.1, 19.0.2, 19.0.3, 20.0.1, 20.0.2, 20.0.3, 21.0.1, 21.0.2, 21.0.3, 22.0.1 and 22.0.2.
IBM's security bulletin, titled iFixes for August 2023, names the component as IBM ICP4A Business Automation Insights Core. It gives these fixes:
- V23.0.1 up to V23.0.1-IF001: apply 23.0.1-IF002.
- V22.0.2 up to V22.0.2-IF005: apply 23.0.1-IF002.
- V21.0.3 up to V21.0.3-IF023: apply 21.0.3-IF024, or upgrade to 23.0.1-IF002.
- V21.0.1 through V21.0.1-IF008, and V20.0.1 to V20.0.3, V19.0.1 to V19.0.3 and V18.0.0 to V18.0.2: upgrade to 21.0.3-IF024 or 23.0.1-IF002.
The bulletin lists no workarounds or mitigations. Note that the bulletin names 23.0.1 as affected up to IF001, while the NVD record stops at 22.0.2. That is a version difference between the two sources. Follow IBM's bulletin, since it is the vendor's own list.
How to check if you're exposed
Find out which Cloud Pak for Business Automation release and interim fix level each of your environments runs, and whether the Business Automation Insights component is deployed.
- Check the version and interim fix level shown in your deployment's documentation or admin tooling, or ask the team that operates the platform.
- Confirm whether Business Automation Insights is part of your deployment.
- Match what you find against the fix list in IBM's bulletin.
On an OpenShift based install, your platform team can list the deployed operator and component versions with their usual tooling. I do not give an exact command here because it depends on how Cloud Pak was installed.
Include test and staging environments. They are often a few fixes behind production.
What to do now
- Identify every Cloud Pak for Business Automation environment and its version and interim fix level.
- Apply 21.0.3-IF024 or 23.0.1-IF002 as IBM's bulletin directs for your version.
- Plan an upgrade for anything older than 21.0.3, since IBM tells those versions to upgrade rather than patch in place.
- Until patched, restrict who can import or export CSV files through the affected component.
- Tell staff who open exported CSV files in spreadsheet software not to trust formulas or links inside them, and to use plain text import where possible.
- Subscribe to IBM security bulletins for the product so the next fix reaches you faster.
Why it matters
The weakness is CWE-1236, improper neutralization of formula elements in a CSV file. Spreadsheet programs treat cell values that begin with certain characters as formulas. If an application writes untrusted text into a CSV file without defusing those characters, the person who later opens the file in a spreadsheet may run something they did not intend.
IBM's description says a remote attacker could execute arbitrary commands, caused by improper validation of CSV file contents. The score is 7.0. The vector in the record is local, with high complexity and user interaction required, which makes sense for a flaw that depends on someone opening a file. The description says remote and the vector says local. Both come from the same record and IBM's bulletin, and they are consistent with a remote person supplying the data while a local user opens it.
It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue, and I found no claim of exploitation. This class of bug is easy to underrate because nothing crashes. The risk sits in a downstream user action.
Try it yourself
Want to see how a finding like this moves from discovery to fix? This demo walks through triage, ownership and verification in a vulnerability management workflow.
Click through it at your own pace, or open it full screen.
Quick check
Is there a workaround?
IBM's bulletin lists none. Apply the interim fix or upgrade.
Why does the record say remote and the vector say local?
The description says a remote attacker can supply the data. The vector reflects that a local user has to open the resulting file.
Sources
- IBM security bulletin: Cloud Pak for Business Automation iFixes for August 2023
- Safeguard Gold entry for CVE-2023-35899
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
