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CVE Record

CVE-2021-20360: IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an a...

IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information. IBM X-Force ID: 195031.

MediumCVSS 5.9Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 used cryptography weaker than expected. If successfully abused, an attacker could decrypt highly sensitive information. The issue is medium severity because exploitation is rated high complexity and affects confidentiality only, not integrity or availability.

Executive priority

Address in the normal vulnerability remediation cycle, with higher priority where Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 protects sensitive customer, regulated, or business-critical data. There is no supplied evidence of active exploitation, but the potential confidentiality impact is high.

Technical view

CVE-2021-20360 affects IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3. CVSS 3.0 is 5.9 with network attack vector, no privileges or user interaction required, high attack complexity, and high confidentiality impact. The source bundle does not identify affected components beyond the product version.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to organizations running IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3, especially deployments handling sensitive data protected by the affected cryptography. No other IBM Cloud Pak versions are listed in the provided sources.

Exploitation context

The CVE is not listed as CISA KEV in the supplied bundle, and the sources do not report active exploitation. Exploitability is marked unproven in the CVSS temporal vector, so treat this as a confidentiality risk requiring remediation rather than confirmed incident activity.

Researcher notes

Key constraints are narrow: IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 only, weak cryptographic algorithms, confidentiality impact, high attack complexity, no integrity or availability impact. The prompt does not include exact algorithm details, vulnerable component names, or patch version numbers.

Mitigation direction

  • Check IBM advisory 6471271 for the official remediation path.
  • Prioritize remediation for Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 environments handling regulated or sensitive data.
  • Avoid inventing compensating controls; follow IBM guidance for affected cryptography.
  • Restrict network access to affected deployments while remediation is planned.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory IBM Cloud Pak for Applications deployments and confirm whether version 4.3 is present.
  • Review IBM X-Force ID 195031 against internal vulnerability tracking records.
  • Confirm remediation status against IBM advisory 6471271.
  • Validate that sensitive-data workflows no longer rely on the affected weak cryptography.
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.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2021-20360 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.9 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/S:U/AV:N/C:H/UI:N/PR:N/A:N/AC:H/I:N/RL:O/E:U/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
5.9CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/S:U/AV:N/C:H/UI:N/PR:N/A:N/AC:H/I:N/RL:O/E:U/RC:C2.23.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.9Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-20360Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/S:U/AV:N/C:H/UI:N/PR:N/A:N/AC:H/I:N/RL:O/E:U/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 Applications4.3Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.