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CVE Record

CVE-2021-20478: IBM Cloud Pak System 2.3 could allow a local user in some situations to view the artifacts of another user...

IBM Cloud Pak System 2.3 could allow a local user in some situations to view the artifacts of another user in self service console. IBM X-Force ID: 197497.

MediumCVSS 4Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Cloud Pak System 2.3 has an information disclosure issue where a local user may, in some situations, view another user's artifacts in the self-service console. The business impact is limited confidentiality exposure, not data modification or outage, based on the published CVSS vector.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate-priority confidentiality issue. Prioritize remediation where Cloud Pak System hosts sensitive artifacts or has many console users, but it is not described as remote code execution, privilege escalation, or service disruption.

Technical view

CVE-2021-20478 affects IBM Cloud Pak System 2.3. IBM describes a local information disclosure condition in the self-service console. CVSS 3.0 score is 4.0 with local attack vector, low complexity, no user interaction, and low confidentiality impact only.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to organizations running IBM Cloud Pak System 2.3 where users can access the affected self-service console context. The source bundle does not identify other versions or products as affected.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. IBM X-Force lists the vulnerability, but the provided data does not include public exploit status or exploit details.

Researcher notes

No CWE is listed in the source bundle. CVSS vector is CVSS:3.0/S:U/A:N/I:N/C:L/AV:L/AC:L/UI:N/PR:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C. The details are sparse, so avoid assuming exploitability beyond local information disclosure in the self-service console.

Mitigation direction

  • Review IBM advisory 6473065 for the official remediation path.
  • Apply IBM-provided fixes or updates validated for Cloud Pak System 2.3.
  • Limit access to the self-service console to authorized users.
  • Review artifact visibility and tenant/user separation controls.
  • Monitor IBM X-Force entry 197497 for updated guidance.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether IBM Cloud Pak System 2.3 is deployed.
  • Identify users with local or self-service console access.
  • Check whether IBM advisory remediation has been applied.
  • Review logs for unusual artifact access across users.
  • Validate artifact isolation after remediation in a test environment.
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.

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CVE-2021-20478 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
4 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/S:U/A:N/I:N/C:L/AV:L/AC:L/UI:N/PR: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
4CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/S:U/A:N/I:N/C:L/AV:L/AC:L/UI:N/PR:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C2.51.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

4Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-20478Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/S:U/A:N/I:N/C:L/AV:L/AC:L/UI:N/PR: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
IBMCloud Pak System2.3Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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