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Infosphere Information ServerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2021-29681

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-05-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
IBM InfoSphere Information Server 11.7 could allow an attacker to obtain sensitive information by injecting parameters into an HTML query. This information could be used in further attacks against the system. IBM X-Force ID: 199918.

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 confidence

IBM InfoSphere Information Server 11.7 is vulnerable to parameter injection in HTML queries, allowing attackers to inject malicious parameters that can extract sensitive information from the system. This type of vulnerability typically stems from insufficient input validation or improper encoding of user-supplied parameters before they're used in HTML query construction.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from IBM for this vulnerability. Until patched, monitor access logs for suspicious parameter injection patterns and consider implementing additional input validation layers at the application or WAF level.

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
Infosphere Information ServerApplication
Affected:= 11.7

CVSS 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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm IBM InfoSphere Information Server installation
    Locate the product installation by checking for typical IBM installation directories (such as /opt/IBM or C:\Program Files\IBM) and look for InfoSphere or Information Server folders. On Windows, check Services for 'IBM InfoSphere Information Server' services. On Linux/Unix, check for running processes related to Information Server.
    Affected if The product is installed and running on the system.
  2. Verify the installed version is 11.7
    Locate the version information file or use the IBM InfoSphere administration console to check the exact version number. Common locations include the installation directory's version.txt, or via the IBM Information Server console under System Information or About sections.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 11.7 (version 11.7.0.0 through 11.7.x).
  3. Identify if web interface components are enabled
    Check if IBM InfoSphere web applications are running. Look for web services related to Information Server (typically on port 9443, 9080, or similar). Verify the Information Server console or any web-facing query interfaces are accessible.
    Affected if Web interface or HTML query functionality is enabled and accessible.
  4. Review web access logs for suspicious parameter patterns
    Examine IBM InfoSphere Information Server access logs (typically found in the installation logs directory) for unusual query parameter patterns such as unexpected characters in parameters, SQL-like syntax, or injection attempts in query strings.
    Affected if Web access logs show any parameter injection attempts or unusual query patterns.
  5. Check for custom input validation or WAF configurations
    Review the IBM InfoSphere configuration for any custom input validation settings. If a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or additional input validation layer is present, document its configuration.
    Affected if No additional input validation layers are configured between user input and HTML query construction.

The environment is affected if IBM InfoSphere Information Server version 11.7 is installed with web-based query functionality enabled and no additional input validation protection is in place.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from IBM for this vulnerability. Until patched, monitor access logs for suspicious parameter injection patterns and consider implementing additional input validation layers at the application or WAF level.

Fix this in Infosphere Information Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,940
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-29681 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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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