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CVE Record

CVE-2021-39016: IBM Engineering Lifecycle Optimization - Publishing 6.0.6, 6.0.6.1, 7.0, 7.0.1, and 7.0.2 does not sufficie...

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Optimization - Publishing 6.0.6, 6.0.6.1, 7.0, 7.0.1, and 7.0.2 does not sufficiently monitor or control transmitted network traffic volume, so that an actor can cause the software to transmit more traffic than should be allowed for that actor. IBM X-Force ID: 213722.

MediumCVSS 4.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Optimization Publishing versions 6.0.6, 6.0.6.1, 7.0, 7.0.1, and 7.0.2 can fail to control how much network traffic a permitted actor can make it transmit. The business risk is misuse of trusted access, not unauthenticated takeover.

Executive priority

Handle in the regular vulnerability management cycle, with faster action if the product is internet-accessible, widely reachable internally, or used by many low-privileged users.

Technical view

The CVSS 3.0 vector is 4.3 medium: network reachable, low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, no confidentiality or availability impact, and low integrity impact. IBM identifies this as X-Force ID 213722.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to organizations running the named IBM Engineering Lifecycle Optimization Publishing versions and allowing authenticated or otherwise low-privileged network access to the service.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not indicate CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploit maturity is marked unproven in the CVSS vector, so treat this as a known weakness requiring remediation tracking, not an emergency exploitation event.

Researcher notes

Evidence is sparse in the provided sources. The issue concerns insufficient monitoring or control of transmitted network traffic volume. Do not assume denial-of-service, data disclosure, or public exploit availability from this bundle alone.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify affected IBM ELO Publishing deployments and versions.
  • Review IBM advisory 6603335 for fixed releases or official mitigations.
  • Apply vendor-recommended updates or mitigations through normal change control.
  • Restrict service access to trusted users and networks where feasible.
  • Monitor application hosts for unusual transmitted traffic volume.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm deployed versions against 6.0.6, 6.0.6.1, 7.0, 7.0.1, and 7.0.2.
  • Check IBM X-Force ID 213722 and advisory 6603335 for remediation status.
  • Verify vendor remediation is applied and documented in asset records.
  • Review network telemetry for abnormal traffic volume from publishing servers.
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.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2021-39016 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.3 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
4.3CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/PR:L/C:N/I:L/UI:N/S:U/AC:L/A:N/AV:N/RL:O/RC:C/E:U2.81.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

4.3Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-39016Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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
IBMEngineering Lifecycle Optimization Publishing6.0.6, 6.0.6.1, 7.0, 7.0.1, 7.0.2Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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