CVE-2020-4921
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIBM Security Guardium 10.6 and 11.2 is vulnerable to SQL injection. A remote attacker could send specially crafted SQL statements, which could allow the attacker to view, add, modify or delete information in the back-end database. IBM X-Force ID: 191398.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceIBM Security Guardium versions 10.6 and 11.2 contains a SQL injection vulnerability. A remote attacker can send specially crafted SQL statements through unauthenticated or authenticated input fields that lack proper input sanitization or parameterized queries, potentially allowing arbitrary SQL execution on the back-end database to view, add, modify, or delete data.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 10.6= 11.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Guardium versionAccess the Guardium admin console or use the CLI command 'guard_version' or check the /etc/guardium version file to determine the exact installed version.Affected if The installed version is exactly 10.6 or 11.2
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Verify database input interfaces are exposedIdentify if web admin interfaces, API endpoints, or report generation features that accept user input are accessible from the network. Check configuration for allowed IP ranges and interface bindings.Affected if SQL injection entry points (input fields in admin UI, reports, or APIs) are accessible without network restrictions
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Review access control on vulnerable input fieldsExamine Guardium user role assignments and authentication settings. Determine if unauthenticated access or weak authentication is possible on interfaces that accept SQL input.Affected if Unauthenticated access is enabled or low-privileged users can access input fields mentioned in the CVE (reports, searches, or admin functions)
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Inspect logs for SQL injection indicatorsSearch Guardium audit logs (typically in /var/log or via the GUI) for unusual SQL syntax, unexpected database queries, or SQL error messages that may indicate exploitation attempts.Affected if Logs show anomalous SQL patterns or repeated SQL errors from specific IP addresses
You are affected if your Guardium installation is version 10.6 or 11.2 AND the admin interfaces or input fields are network-accessible.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the vendor patch from IBM for this vulnerability (refer to IBM X-Force ID 191398). Until patched, restrict network access to Guardium interfaces and monitor for suspicious SQL patterns in logs.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,928.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4921 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-4921 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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