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CVE Record

CVE-2021-29728: IBM Sterling Secure Proxy 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 2.4.3.2, and 3.4.3.2 contains hard-coded credentials, such as a pas...

IBM Sterling Secure Proxy 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 2.4.3.2, and 3.4.3.2 contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key, which it uses for its own inbound authentication, outbound communication to external components, or encryption of internal data. IBM X-Force ID: 201160.

MediumCVSS 4.9Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Sterling Secure Proxy has hard-coded credentials in listed versions. A highly privileged attacker with network access could potentially expose confidential data protected or handled by the product. The CVE is medium severity because it requires high privileges, but confidentiality impact is high.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate-priority confidentiality risk. Address affected deployments in normal vulnerability remediation cycles, faster for externally reachable or sensitive file-transfer environments.

Technical view

CVE-2021-29728 affects IBM Sterling Secure Proxy 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 2.4.3.2, and 3.4.3.2. The issue is hard-coded credentials used for inbound authentication, outbound communication, or internal data encryption. CVSS 3.0 is 4.9 with network attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, and high confidentiality impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to organizations running the listed IBM Sterling Secure Proxy versions. Risk is higher where the service is reachable from untrusted networks or supports sensitive partner file-transfer workflows.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. CVSS indicates exploitation requires high privileges, no user interaction, low complexity, and network access.

Researcher notes

The source bundle does not include CWE mapping or detailed IBM fix levels. Avoid assuming exploitability beyond the CVSS vector and vendor description. Validate product version, network exposure, and privilege boundaries before ranking local risk.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory Sterling Secure Proxy deployments and confirm affected versions are present.
  • Review IBM support advisories and X-Force entry for vendor-designated fixes or workarounds.
  • Prioritize remediation for internet-reachable or partner-facing Secure Proxy deployments.
  • Restrict management and service exposure to trusted networks while remediation is pending.
  • Review credential or key rotation needs after applying IBM guidance.

Validation and detection

  • Check installed Sterling Secure Proxy versions against the affected version list.
  • Confirm whether instances are reachable from untrusted or partner networks.
  • Verify IBM remediation guidance has been applied to every affected deployment.
  • Review logs for unusual privileged access or unexpected external component communication.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
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

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

Credential and access behavior lookup

The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access 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-2021-29728 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
Medium
CVSS
4.9 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/S:U/I:N/C:H/PR:H/A:N/AV:N/AC:L/UI:N/E:U/RC:C/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
4.9CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/S:U/I:N/C:H/PR:H/A:N/AV:N/AC:L/UI:N/E:U/RC:C/RL:O1.23.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

4.9Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-29728Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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