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CVE Record

CVE-2021-39078: IBM Security Guardium 10.5 stores user credentials in plain clear text which can be read by a local privile...

IBM Security Guardium 10.5 stores user credentials in plain clear text which can be read by a local privileged user. IBM X-Force ID: 215589.

MediumCVSS 4.1Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Security Guardium 10.5 may store user credentials in clear text. A local user who already has high privileges could read them, creating a confidentiality risk and potential follow-on account misuse. The public bundle does not show active exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat this as a medium-priority hardening and credential-protection issue. It is not documented as actively exploited, but Guardium protects sensitive database environments, so exposed credentials could have outsized business impact.

Technical view

CVE-2021-39078 is an information disclosure issue in IBM Security Guardium 10.5. The CVSS 3.0 score is 4.1, with local attack vector, high attack complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, and high confidentiality impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to environments running IBM Security Guardium 10.5 where local privileged access exists. Systems not running that version are not identified as affected in the provided sources.

Exploitation context

The CVE is not listed as CISA KEV in the source bundle, and IBM X-Force marks exploit maturity as unproven. Abuse requires local privileged access, so this is mainly a post-compromise or insider-risk concern.

Researcher notes

The key constraint is the need for local privileged access. Validation should focus on affected version confirmation, installed remediation level, and whether credential exposure could enable lateral movement. The source bundle does not provide file paths, exploit details, or specific fixed versions.

Mitigation direction

  • Review IBM advisory 6572983 for official remediation guidance.
  • Apply IBM-provided fixes or upgrades for affected Guardium 10.5 deployments.
  • Restrict and audit local privileged access to Guardium appliances.
  • Rotate credentials if clear-text exposure is suspected.
  • Monitor privileged local access for unusual credential access patterns.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Guardium deployments and confirm whether version 10.5 is present.
  • Check IBM advisory applicability against installed build and fix level.
  • Review privileged local user and service account access on affected systems.
  • Confirm remediation status after applying IBM guidance.
  • Assess whether exposed credentials require rotation.
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.

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CVE-2021-39078 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.1 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/A:N/AV:L/C:H/AC:H/S:U/PR:H/UI:N/I:N/RC:C/E:U/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
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
4.1CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/A:N/AV:L/C:H/AC:H/S:U/PR:H/UI:N/I:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O0.53.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

4.1Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-39078Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/A:N/AV:L/C:H/AC:H/S:U/PR:H/UI:N/I:N/RC:C/E:U/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
IBMSecurity Guardium10.5Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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