LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2021-20420: IBM Security Guardium 11.2 could disclose sensitive information due to reliance on untrusted inputs that co...

IBM Security Guardium 11.2 could disclose sensitive information due to reliance on untrusted inputs that could aid in further attacks against the system. IBM X-Force ID: 196281.

MediumCVSS 4.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Security Guardium 11.2 can disclose sensitive information when it relies on untrusted input. The public bundle rates this as medium severity, with limited confidentiality impact and no stated integrity or availability impact. It matters because Guardium often handles sensitive security and database-monitoring context.

Executive priority

Moderate priority. Remediate confirmed Guardium 11.2 exposure through normal vulnerability management timelines, faster where Guardium is internet-accessible, broadly reachable, or used in high-sensitivity monitoring environments.

Technical view

CVE-2021-20420 affects IBM Security Guardium 11.2. The CVSS 3.0 vector is 4.3: network reachable, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and low confidentiality impact only. No CWE is provided in the bundle.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to environments running IBM Security Guardium 11.2. The vector indicates an authenticated or low-privileged network-adjacent attacker could trigger information disclosure. The bundle does not identify other affected versions or deployment configurations.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not report active exploitation, and KEV status is false. CVSS exploit maturity is listed as unproven. Treat this as a validation and remediation item, not as evidence of an ongoing campaign.

Researcher notes

Evidence is sparse. The bundle states information disclosure from reliance on untrusted inputs but gives no detailed attack surface, CWE, or patch version. Avoid assumptions beyond Guardium 11.2, CVSS metrics, IBM advisory, and X-Force ID 196281.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify all IBM Security Guardium 11.2 systems.
  • Review IBM advisory 6479901 for vendor-approved remediation.
  • Apply IBM-recommended updates or mitigations for affected Guardium systems.
  • Restrict Guardium access to trusted administrative networks.
  • Review least-privilege access for Guardium user accounts.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm deployed Guardium versions against asset inventory.
  • Check whether any instance reports version 11.2.
  • Compare remediation status with IBM advisory 6479901.
  • Review Guardium access logs for unusual low-privileged activity.
  • Document compensating controls if remediation is delayed.
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

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-20420 mapping review

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

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.3 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
4.3CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/PR:L/I:N/A:N/AV:N/AC:L/S:U/C:L/UI:N/RL:O/RC:C/E:U2.81.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

4.3Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-20420Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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
IBMSecurity Guardium11.2Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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