A significant security flaw, identified as CVE-2025-33108, has been discovered in IBM’s Backup, Recovery, and Media Services (BRMS) for IBM i. This vulnerability impacts versions 7.4 and 7.5 of the BRMS software, which are widely used across enterprises for automated backup and recovery operations. The critical nature of this flaw lies in its potential to allow privilege escalation, enabling malicious actors to gain unauthorized, elevated access within an organization’s systems.
The root of this vulnerability is a “library unqualified call” within the BRMS software.
Essentially, the program references system libraries without specifying secure, complete paths. This oversight creates an opening for users who can compile or restore programs to redirect these calls to their own malicious code. Consequently, an attacker with even limited privileges could exploit this flaw to execute arbitrary code with elevated system access, potentially compromising the entire host operating system.
Security experts have rated this as a high-severity issue, giving it a CVSS score of 8.5.
IBM has officially confirmed the vulnerability in BRMS for IBM i versions 7.4 and 7.5. To counter this threat, the company has released specific Program Temporary Fixes (PTFs): SJ05907 for IBM i 7.5 and SJ05906 for IBM i 7.4. Administrators are strongly advised to apply these patches without delay, as there are no other effective workarounds or mitigations available to address the flaw.
Beyond applying the critical patches, security professionals recommend several best practices to enhance system security. These include restricting user privileges and access to BRMS systems, implementing stringent access controls, and closely monitoring all program compilation and restoration activities. Additionally, employing network segmentation can help limit potential attack surfaces. While there’s currently no public proof-of-concept exploit or evidence of active exploitation, organizations using affected IBM BRMS versions must prioritize these measures to protect their systems from this high-severity vulnerability.
