Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a cross-site scripting issue in IBM Engineering Requirements Quality Assistant On-Premises. An authenticated user could place JavaScript into the web interface, changing what another trusted session sees or does and potentially exposing credentials. The cited CVSS score is medium, not because it is harmless, but because it requires privileges and user interaction.
Executive priority
Treat this as a timely remediation item for affected IBM RQA deployments, especially if the tool stores sensitive engineering requirements or uses privileged enterprise sessions. It is not KEV-confirmed, but credential exposure inside trusted sessions can create business impact beyond the application itself.
Technical view
IBM describes all on-premises versions as affected by XSS. The CVSS 3.0 score is 5.4 with network attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, user interaction required, changed scope, low confidentiality and integrity impact, and no availability impact. The source bundle does not provide payload details or a specific fixed version.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations running IBM Engineering Requirements Quality Assistant On-Premises. The source states all versions are affected. Risk is higher where many users can add content to the web UI or where the application is reachable beyond tightly trusted internal users.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The CVSS vector includes high exploit maturity, but active exploitation is not established by the provided sources. Practical abuse requires a logged-in user and another user interacting with affected UI content.
Researcher notes
The public bundle is sparse: it identifies XSS, affected product scope, CVSS metrics, and IBM X-Force ID 203440. It does not include CWE, exploit narrative, affected components, payload mechanics, or named fixed releases. Avoid assuming broader IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management exposure without vendor confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Review IBM advisory 6604005 for official remediation guidance.
- Apply the IBM-provided fix or supported upgrade path if available.
- Restrict application access to trusted networks and users.
- Enforce least privilege for users who can create or edit UI content.
- Monitor for unusual credential prompts or unexpected UI behavior.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all IBM Engineering Requirements Quality Assistant On-Premises deployments.
- Confirm installed versions against IBM advisory and X-Force ID 203440.
- Verify remediation status using vendor-supported version or fix evidence.
- Check whether untrusted users can add content rendered in the web UI.
- Review authentication and access logs for suspicious account activity.
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-2021-29790 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.4 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/C:L/AC:L/I:L/AV:N/UI:R/A:N/S:C/PR:L/RL:O/RC:C/E:H
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/C:L/AC:L/I:L/AV:N/UI:R/A:N/S:C/PR:L/RL:O/RC:C/E:H2.32.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
5.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/C:L/AC:L/I:L/AV:N/UI:R/A:N/S:C/PR:L/RL:O/RC:C/E:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6604005CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- ibm-engineering-cve202129790-xss (203440)CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_XF
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.