Security Bulletin
Summary
IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge is vulnerable to a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use in virtualenv, caused by flaws which allow local attackers to perform symlink-based attacks on directory creation operations. [CVE-2026-22702]. virtualenv is used in our java microservices. This vulnerabilitiy has been addressed. Please read the details for remediation below.
Vulnerability Details
CVEID: CVE-2026-22702
DESCRIPTION: virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to version 20.36.1, TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) vulnerabilities in virtualenv allow local attackers to perform symlink-based attacks on directory creation operations. An attacker with local access can exploit a race condition between directory existence checks and creation to redirect virtualenv's app_data and lock file operations to attacker-controlled locations. This issue has been patched in version 20.36.1.
CWE: CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
CVSS Source: security-advisories@github.com
CVSS Base score: 4.5
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L)
Affected Products and Versions
| Affected Product(s) | Version(s) |
| IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge | 4.0.0 - 5.3.0 |
Remediation/Fixes
| Product(s) | Version(s) | Remediation/Fix/Instructions |
| IBM Watson Speech Services Cartridge | 5.3.1 | The fix in 5.3.1 applies to all versions listed (4.0.0-5.3.0). Version 5.3.1 can be downloaded and installed from: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/cloud-paks/cp-data |
Workarounds and Mitigations
None
Get Notified about Future Security Bulletins
References
Acknowledgement
Change History
27 Feb 2026: Initial Publication
*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.
Disclaimer
According to the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is an "industry open standard designed to convey vulnerability severity and help to determine urgency and priority of response." IBM PROVIDES THE CVSS SCORES ""AS IS"" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ANY ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY. In addition to other efforts to address potential vulnerabilities, IBM periodically updates the record of components contained in our product offerings. As part of that effort, if IBM identifies previously unidentified packages in a product/service inventory, we address relevant vulnerabilities regardless of CVE date. Inclusion of an older CVEID does not demonstrate that the referenced product has been used by IBM since that date, nor that IBM was aware of a vulnerability as of that date. We are making clients aware of relevant vulnerabilities as we become aware of them. "Affected Products and Versions" referenced in IBM Security Bulletins are intended to be only products and versions that are supported by IBM and have not passed their end-of-support or warranty date. Thus, failure to reference unsupported or extended-support products and versions in this Security Bulletin does not constitute a determination by IBM that they are unaffected by the vulnerability. Reference to one or more unsupported versions in this Security Bulletin shall not create an obligation for IBM to provide fixes for any unsupported or extended-support products or versions.
Document Location
Worldwide
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Document Information
Modified date:
27 February 2026
Initial Publish date:
27 February 2026
UID
ibm17262107