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CVE Record

CVE-2021-29723: IBM Sterling Secure Proxy 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 2.4.3.2, and 3.4.3.2 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algori...

IBM Sterling Secure Proxy 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 2.4.3.2, and 3.4.3.2 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information. IBM X-ForceID: 201100.

MediumCVSS 5.9Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-29723 affects specific IBM Sterling Secure Proxy releases that used weaker than expected cryptography. The business concern is confidentiality: a network attacker could potentially decrypt highly sensitive information. The listed CVSS score is 5.9, mainly because exploitation requires high complexity.

Executive priority

Treat as a confidentiality risk for sensitive transfer infrastructure. It is not presented as actively exploited, but affected systems should be remediated through normal vulnerability management timelines.

Technical view

IBM Sterling Secure Proxy 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 2.4.3.2, and 3.4.3.2 are reported to use weaker cryptographic algorithms. CVSS 3.0 is 5.9: network reachable, no privileges or user interaction, high attack complexity, high confidentiality impact, no integrity or availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to environments running the listed IBM Sterling Secure Proxy versions. The source bundle does not identify affected configurations beyond those versions.

Exploitation context

The CVE is not marked KEV in the provided bundle. The CVSS vector lists exploit maturity as unproven, so active exploitation is not evidenced here.

Researcher notes

The evidence identifies weak cryptographic algorithms but does not include algorithm details, affected configurations, or fixed version text in the bundle. Do not broaden scope beyond the four listed versions without vendor confirmation.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory IBM Sterling Secure Proxy deployments and versions.
  • Review IBM support pages and X-Force entry for official remediation.
  • Apply IBM-recommended fixes or upgrades for affected releases.
  • Prioritize systems handling sensitive partner, file-transfer, or credential-bearing traffic.
  • Document exceptions where affected versions cannot be immediately remediated.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm no production instance runs 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 2.4.3.2, or 3.4.3.2.
  • Verify installed fix level against IBM advisory guidance.
  • Review cryptographic configuration against vendor-supported secure defaults.
  • Confirm sensitive traffic paths through Sterling Secure Proxy are documented.
  • Record residual exposure for any unsupported or deferred systems.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
5

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-2021-29723 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.9 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
4Source 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
5.9CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/AC:H/AV:N/UI:N/I:N/S:U/A:N/PR:N/C:H/RC:C/E:U/RL:O2.23.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.9Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-29723Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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
IBMSterling Secure Proxy3.4.3.2, 2.4.3.2, 6.0.1, 6.0.2Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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