Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
IBM Guardium Data Encryption 4.0.0.4 may not lock accounts aggressively enough after failed logins. A remote attacker could repeatedly guess credentials and potentially gain access to protected information if an account is compromised.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted confidentiality risk. Prioritize validation where GDE protects sensitive data or is network-reachable, but do not treat it as emergency-grade without exploitation evidence.
Technical view
The issue is an inadequate account lockout setting in IBM GDE 4.0.0.4. CVSS 3.0 is 5.9 with network attack vector, no privileges, no user interaction, high attack complexity, and high confidentiality impact. Integrity impact is not indicated.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations running IBM Guardium Data Encryption 4.0.0.4, especially where authentication interfaces are reachable over a network.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not indicate active exploitation, and KEV is false. IBM X-Force tracks it as ID 196217. The CVSS exploit maturity value is unproven.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies only IBM Guardium Data Encryption 4.0.0.4. No CWE is supplied. The vulnerability is credential brute forcing enabled by weak lockout behavior, not code execution or data corruption.
Mitigation direction
- Confirm whether IBM GDE 4.0.0.4 is deployed.
- Review IBM support guidance for CVE-2021-20415.
- Apply IBM-recommended remediation for affected deployments.
- Limit GDE authentication interface exposure to trusted networks.
- Monitor for repeated failed login attempts.
Validation and detection
- Inventory IBM Guardium Data Encryption versions in production.
- Check whether any instance reports version 4.0.0.4.
- Review authentication and account lockout configuration evidence.
- Inspect logs for unusual repeated failed authentication attempts.
- Verify remediation against IBM advisory guidance.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2021-20415 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.9 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/A:N/AV:N/PR:N/AC:H/S:U/C:H/I:N/UI:N/RL:O/E:U/RC:C
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.0/A:N/AV:N/PR:N/AC:H/S:U/C:H/I:N/UI:N/RL:O/E:U/RC:C2.23.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
5.9MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/A:N/AV:N/PR:N/AC:H/S:U/C:H/I:N/UI:N/RL:O/E:U/RC:C
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6469691CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- ibm-gde-cve202120415-info-disc (196217)CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_XF
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.