LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2021-39021: IBM Guardium Data Encryption (GDE) 5.0.0.2 behaves differently or sends different responses under different...

IBM Guardium Data Encryption (GDE) 5.0.0.2 behaves differently or sends different responses under different circumstances in a way that is observable to an unauthorized actor, which could facilitate username enumeration. IBM X-Force ID: 213856.

LowCVSS 3.7Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-39021 is a low-severity IBM Guardium Data Encryption issue where unauthorized users may observe different responses that help determine valid usernames. It is not described as data theft or system takeover, but username enumeration can support later attacks against exposed deployments.

Executive priority

Treat as a low-priority remediation unless the affected service is internet-exposed or protects high-value environments. Address during regular vulnerability maintenance, while avoiding username disclosure on exposed authentication surfaces.

Technical view

IBM reports that Guardium Data Encryption 5.0.0.2 can behave differently under different circumstances in a way visible to unauthenticated network actors. The CVSS 3.0 score is 3.7 with confidentiality impact only, high attack complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to IBM Security Guardium Data Encryption version 5.0.0.2, especially interfaces reachable by unauthorized network users. The source bundle does not identify other affected versions or products.

Exploitation context

The CVE is not in CISA KEV, and the CVSS exploit maturity is unproven. The known impact is username enumeration, which may improve attacker reconnaissance but is not documented as direct compromise.

Researcher notes

Evidence is sparse: no CWE is supplied, affected scope is one IBM product version, and no exploit details are cited. Validation should focus on version confirmation, exposure paths, and vendor advisory status rather than speculative exploitation.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify any IBM Guardium Data Encryption 5.0.0.2 deployments.
  • Review IBM support and X-Force guidance for official remediation.
  • Apply IBM-published fixes or upgrade paths if listed for your deployment.
  • Limit unauthorized network reachability to affected GDE interfaces where feasible.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm installed GDE versions against the affected 5.0.0.2 version.
  • Check whether externally reachable services expose GDE authentication or lookup behavior.
  • Review logs for repeated failed authentication or username probing patterns.
  • Document whether IBM guidance has been applied or accepted as residual risk.
Prepared
Confidence
high
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

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-39021 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
Low
CVSS
3.7 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:N/PR:N/I:N/C:L/AC:H/AV:N/A:N/S:U/RC:C/RL:O/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
3.7CVSS 3.0LowCVSS:3.0/UI:N/PR:N/I:N/C:L/AC:H/AV:N/A:N/S:U/RC:C/RL:O/E:U2.21.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

3.7Low
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-39021Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:N/PR:N/I:N/C:L/AC:H/AV:N/A:N/S:U/RC:C/RL:O/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
IBMSecurity Guardium Data Encryption5.0.0.2Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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