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CVE Record

CVE-2021-20439: IBM Security Access Manager 9.0 and IBM Security Verify Access Docker 10.0.0 stores user credentials in pla...

IBM Security Access Manager 9.0 and IBM Security Verify Access Docker 10.0.0 stores user credentials in plain clear text which can be read by an unauthorized user.

HighCVSS 7.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw means affected IBM access-management products may store user credentials in clear text. An unauthorized user could read those credentials, creating account compromise risk. The public sources identify confidentiality impact as high but do not show confirmed active exploitation.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation for any production identity or access-management deployment on the affected versions. Credential exposure can enable broader compromise, even though the supplied sources do not confirm active exploitation.

Technical view

CVE-2021-20439 affects IBM Security Access Manager 9.0 and IBM Security Verify Access Docker 10.0.0. The CVSS 3.0 vector is network-accessible, unauthenticated, low complexity, no user interaction, with high confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to organizations running the listed IBM products and versions. Risk is highest where affected services, containers, or related credential storage are reachable by unauthorized users or insufficiently segmented from broader networks.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and this CVE is not in KEV. IBM X-Force/CVSS metadata marks exploit maturity as unproven. Treat it as serious credential-exposure risk, not as confirmed exploited-in-the-wild activity.

Researcher notes

The evidence names the affected products, versions, CVSS vector, and confidentiality impact, but does not provide detailed root cause, file paths, exploit details, or exact fixed versions in the supplied bundle. Avoid assuming impact beyond the listed versions.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory IBM Security Access Manager 9.0 and Security Verify Access Docker 10.0.0 deployments.
  • Review IBM advisory 6471903 and X-Force 196453 for vendor-approved fixes or workarounds.
  • Restrict network access to affected management and service endpoints until remediated.
  • Rotate credentials that may have been stored or exposed in clear text.
  • Monitor for unexpected access to credential stores and related configuration files.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm product names and versions against asset inventory and running deployments.
  • Check whether affected deployments store credentials in clear text as described by IBM.
  • Review access controls around credential storage and affected service endpoints.
  • Look for unauthorized reads or suspicious access around credential-related files or configuration.
  • Verify remediation status against IBM’s advisory, not inferred version assumptions.
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.

description · low confidence lookup

Container behavior lookup

The affected technology mentions containers, so container-specific ATT&CK technique review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-20439 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
High
CVSS
7.5 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/PR:N/AC:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A: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
7.5CVSS 3.0HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/PR:N/AC:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C3.93.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

7.5High
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-20439Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/PR:N/AC:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A: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
IBMSecurity Verify Access Docker10.0.0Listed
IBMSecurity Access Manager9.0Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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