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CVE Record

CVE-2021-20359: IBM Cloud Pak for Automation 20.0.3, 20.0.2-IF002 - Business Automation Application Designer Component stor...

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation 20.0.3, 20.0.2-IF002 - Business Automation Application Designer Component stores potentially sensitive information in log files that could be obtained by an unauthorized user. IBM X-Force ID: 194966.

MediumCVSS 6.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Cloud Pak for Automation could place sensitive information in Business Automation Application Designer log files. The main business risk is confidentiality loss, not system takeover or outage. The affected versions named in the sources are 20.0.2-IF002 and 20.0.3.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate confidentiality risk. Prioritize systems processing regulated, customer, credential, or business-sensitive workflow data, especially where logs are widely accessible or exported to shared monitoring platforms.

Technical view

CVE-2021-20359 is an information disclosure issue in IBM Cloud Pak for Automation Business Automation Application Designer. The CVSS 3.0 vector is 6.5 medium: network attack vector, low privileges required, no user interaction, high confidentiality impact, no integrity or availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to environments running IBM Cloud Pak for Automation 20.0.2-IF002 or 20.0.3 with the affected designer component and accessible logs.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates low privileges are required, so log access controls and user-role boundaries matter.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports sensitive information exposure through logs, with CVSS indicating PR:L and C:H. The source bundle does not identify exact leaked fields, exploit activity, or detailed fix versions, so validation should stay focused on affected-version inventory, component presence, log contents, and IBM guidance.

Mitigation direction

  • Review IBM advisory 6412345 and apply the vendor-recommended remediation.
  • Prioritize affected 20.0.2-IF002 and 20.0.3 deployments for update review.
  • Restrict application, platform, and centralized log access to authorized administrators.
  • Reduce retention or redact sensitive historical logs where policy permits.
  • Check IBM X-Force entry 194966 for vendor status and remediation updates.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory IBM Cloud Pak for Automation versions in production and non-production.
  • Confirm whether Business Automation Application Designer is deployed or enabled.
  • Review logs for sensitive data exposure without broadly sharing log contents.
  • Verify log permissions block unauthorized or low-privileged access.
  • Confirm remediation status against IBM advisory guidance.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

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CVE-2021-20359 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
6.5 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:N/AC:L/C:H/S:U/PR:L/I:N/A:N/AV:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
6.5CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/UI:N/AC:L/C:H/S:U/PR:L/I:N/A:N/AV:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C2.83.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

6.5Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-20359Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:N/AC:L/C:H/S:U/PR:L/I:N/A:N/AV:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
IBMCloud Pak for Automation20.0.2.IF002, 20.0.3Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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