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CVE Record

CVE-2021-20432: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.7 uses Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) which could allow...

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.7 uses Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) which could allow an attacker to carry out privileged actions and retrieve sensitive information as the domain name is not being limited to only trusted domains. IBM X-Force ID: 196344.

MediumCVSS 6.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus versions 10.1.0 through 10.1.7 allowed overly broad CORS trust. A remote attacker could potentially use that weakness to perform privileged actions or obtain sensitive information. The available sources rate it medium, not catastrophic, but it affects backup infrastructure where confidentiality and administrative integrity matter.

Executive priority

Treat this as a scheduled remediation item with backup-platform ownership. Prioritize faster if affected systems are internet-facing, widely reachable internally, or manage high-value recovery data.

Technical view

CVE-2021-20432 is a CORS domain-restriction flaw in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. The CVSS 3.0 vector is network exploitable, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, with low confidentiality and integrity impact and no availability impact. IBM X-Force tracks it as ID 196344.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus deployments running 10.1.0 through 10.1.7, especially where the web interface is reachable from broader internal or external networks.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. CVSS exploit maturity is unproven. The issue is still operationally relevant because compromised backup administration or sensitive backup metadata can affect recovery confidence.

Researcher notes

Evidence is concise: affected range, CORS weakness, IBM X-Force ID, and CVSS vector are available. The bundle does not provide exploit details, affected configurations beyond versions, or a named fixed version, so validation should anchor on IBM guidance.

Mitigation direction

  • Review IBM advisory 6445733 and apply the vendor-recommended fix or upgrade path.
  • Restrict access to Spectrum Protect Plus administrative interfaces to trusted networks.
  • Limit allowed CORS origins to explicitly trusted domains where configuration permits.
  • Monitor for unexpected cross-origin access patterns and privileged administrative activity.
  • Review administrative roles and remove unnecessary privileges.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Spectrum Protect Plus versions across production and recovery environments.
  • Confirm whether any instance runs versions 10.1.0 through 10.1.7.
  • Check IBM advisory status for the exact deployed version and build.
  • Validate CORS behavior only through authorized security testing.
  • Confirm administrative interfaces are not broadly reachable.
Prepared
Confidence
high
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-2021-20432 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/AV:N/UI:N/I:L/S:U/A:N/C:L/PR:N/AC:L/RC:C/RL:O/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
6.5CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:N/UI:N/I:L/S:U/A:N/C:L/PR:N/AC:L/RC:C/RL:O/E:U3.92.5Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

6.5Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-20432Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/UI:N/I:L/S:U/A:N/C:L/PR:N/AC:L/RC:C/RL:O/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
IBMSpectrum Protect Plus10.1.0, 10.1.7Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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