Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-29703 is a high-severity availability issue in IBM Db2. An attacker can cause the Db2 server to terminate abnormally by triggering a specially crafted SELECT statement. The cited impact is denial of service, not data theft or data modification.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for internet-facing, partner-facing, or shared-network Db2 systems because the impact is service outage. Internal-only systems still deserve scheduled remediation, especially where Db2 supports revenue, operations, identity, or reporting workloads.
Technical view
IBM Db2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows, including Db2 Connect Server, is affected in versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, 11.1, and 11.5. CVSS 3.0 is 7.5: network reachable, unauthenticated, low complexity, no user interaction, availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant where affected Db2 services are reachable over the network, especially from untrusted or broadly accessible segments. Organizations running listed Db2 versions or dependent products covered by IBM or NetApp advisories should treat this as potentially business-impacting.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. The CVSS vector marks exploit maturity as unproven. The vulnerability still matters because unauthenticated network access and low complexity can turn database availability into an operational incident.
Researcher notes
The provided evidence supports a denial-of-service condition via a specially crafted SELECT statement, with no confidentiality or integrity impact claimed. Do not assume remote code execution or data compromise from this bundle. Patch-level detail must be taken from IBM’s advisory.
Mitigation direction
- Review IBM advisory node 6466371 for the official remediation path.
- Apply IBM-provided fixes or updates for the affected Db2 release.
- Review NetApp advisory NTAP-20210720-0006 if NetApp products are in scope.
- Limit Db2 network reachability to trusted systems while remediation is pending.
- Monitor vendor advisories for revised affected-version or fix guidance.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Db2 LUW and Db2 Connect Server versions across all environments.
- Confirm whether versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, 11.1, or 11.5 are present.
- Check IBM fix status against the specific installed release and build.
- Review database service exposure from untrusted networks or shared segments.
- Check operational monitoring for unexplained Db2 abnormal terminations.
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-2021-29703 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
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/S:U/C:N/AV:N/PR:N/AC:L/I:N/UI:N/A:H/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/S:U/C:N/AV:N/PR:N/AC:L/I:N/UI:N/A:H/RL:O/E:U/RC:C3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.0/S:U/C:N/AV:N/PR:N/AC:L/I:N/UI:N/A:H/RL:O/E:U/RC:C
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6466371CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- ibm-db2-cve202129703-dos (200659)CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_XF
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210720-0006/CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
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.