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PH67604: UNEXPECTED ACCESS AFTER RUNNING DFH$SM2R

A fix is available

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APAR status

  • Closed as program error.

Error description

  • The DFH$SM2R job is used to generate RACF commands to create new
    classes and profiles. The userid which then runs the CLIST to
    create these new profiles inadvertently gets ALTER access to
    every profile that is created. This behaviour is documented in
    IBM Documentation as:
    
    The RDEFINE command adds a profile for the resource to the RACF
    database in order to control access to the resource. It also
    places your user ID on the access list and gives you ALTER
    authority to the resource unless SETROPTS NOADDCREATOR is in
    effect.
    
    While this could be argued as documented behaviour, it goes
    against the zero-trust policy by giving an individual user
    access rather than a group.
    
    When DFH$SM2R processes security metadata containing multiple
    classes, profiles from earlier classes in the metadata are
    incorrectly included in the RACF commands generated for
    subsequent classes. This results in duplicate or misplaced
    profile definitions across different security classes.
    

Local fix

  • Set SETROPTS NOADDCREATOR to prevent the additional permission
    from being granted.
    

Problem summary

  • ****************************************************************
    * USERS AFFECTED: All CICS users.                              *
    ****************************************************************
    * PROBLEM DESCRIPTION: RDEFINE commands generated from         *
    *                      security metadata by DFH$SM2R leads to  *
    *                      unexpected access being given. Extra    *
    *                      RDEFINE commands also may be generated  *
    *                      in some classes.                        *
    ****************************************************************
    The DFH$SM2R job, which calls DFH$XSR, is used to generate RACF
    commands to create new classes and profiles from a security
    metadata input. The userid which runs the CLIST is then given
    ALTER access to every profile that is created. This is
    documented behaviour, but not mentioned in the RACF command
    output from DFH$XSR.
    
    This can be slightly misleading as giving an individual user
    access rather than a group goes against the zero-trust policy.
    
    In cases where there are multiple classes in the security
    metadata being processed, subsequent classes may have extra
    RDEFINE statements added containing profiles from the previous
    class.
    

Problem conclusion

  • CICS has been updated to add an informational message to RACF
    commands generated from security metadata explaining that the
    RDEFINE command adds a profile for the resource and places your
    user ID on the access list with ALTER authority unless
    SETROPTS NOADDCREATOR is set.
    
    CICS has also been update to clear existing profiles before
    generating the next classes' RACF commands to prevent extra
    profile RDEFINE statements being added.
    

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

  • APAR number

    PH67604

  • Reported component name

    CICS TS Z/OS V6

  • Reported component ID

    5655YA100

  • Reported release

    400

  • Status

    CLOSED PER

  • PE

    NoPE

  • HIPER

    NoHIPER

  • Special Attention

    YesSpecatt / CST / Xsystem

  • Submitted date

    2025-08-01

  • Closed date

    2026-03-11

  • Last modified date

    2026-04-02

  • APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

  • APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Modules/Macros

  • DFH$XSR  DFH$XSU
    

Fix information

  • Fixed component name

    CICS TS Z/OS V6

  • Fixed component ID

    5655YA100

Applicable component levels

  • R400 PSY UO07106

       UP26/03/12 P F603  

  • R500 PSY UO07105

       UP26/03/18 P F603  

  • R600 PSY UO07104

       UP26/03/12 P F603  

Fix is available

  • Select the PTF appropriate for your component level. You will be required to sign in. Distribution on physical media is not available in all countries.

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Document Information

Modified date:
02 April 2026