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CVE Record

CVE-2021-39072: IBM Security Guardium 11.3 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by the fai...

IBM Security Guardium 11.3 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by the failure to properly enable HTTP Strict Transport Security. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information using man in the middle techniques. IBM X-Force ID: 215581.

MediumCVSS 5.9Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Security Guardium 11.3 may fail to enforce browser HTTPS protections through HTTP Strict Transport Security. On an untrusted network, a man-in-the-middle could potentially capture sensitive information. This is not listed as known exploited in the supplied sources.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate-priority confidentiality issue. Prioritize if Guardium administration is reachable from remote or less-trusted networks, because Guardium may handle sensitive security and database activity information.

Technical view

The vulnerability is an HSTS configuration failure in IBM Security Guardium 11.3. CVSS 3.0 is 5.9, with network attack vector, high attack complexity, no privileges, and high confidentiality impact. IBM maps it to X-Force ID 215581.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant where IBM Security Guardium 11.3 web access is reachable over networks an attacker could intercept, especially unmanaged, shared, or remote access paths.

Exploitation context

The supplied sources describe man-in-the-middle techniques as the exploitation context. They do not show public exploitation, weaponized tooling, or CISA KEV listing.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE record, IBM advisory reference, and IBM X-Force ID. The issue is configuration/protocol-hardening related rather than code execution. No affected versions beyond Guardium 11.3 are supported by the provided sources.

Mitigation direction

  • Check IBM advisory 6573005 for supported Guardium 11.3 remediation guidance.
  • Apply the IBM-recommended fix pack or configuration update when confirmed.
  • Limit Guardium web access to trusted networks while remediation is pending.
  • Avoid accessing Guardium from untrusted Wi-Fi or unmanaged networks.
  • Confirm TLS and HSTS behavior after vendor-supported remediation.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory IBM Security Guardium deployments and identify any version 11.3 systems.
  • Review the IBM advisory and X-Force entry for exact affected scope.
  • Check HTTPS responses for an appropriate Strict-Transport-Security header.
  • Use authenticated vulnerability scanning where available for CVE-2021-39072.
  • Document any externally reachable or broadly reachable Guardium web interfaces.
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

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CVE-2021-39072 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
5.9 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
5.9CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/C:H/AC:H/AV:N/A:N/I:N/UI:N/PR:N/S:U/E:U/RL:O/RC:C2.23.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.9Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-39072Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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 Guardium11.3Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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