CVE-2021-29747
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 InfoSphere Information Server 11.7 could allow a remote attacker to obtain highly sensitive information due to a vulnerability in the authentication mechanism. IBM X-Force ID: 201775.
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 InfoSphere Information Server 11.7 contains a vulnerability in its authentication mechanism that allows a remote attacker to obtain highly sensitive information. The flaw is exploitable over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction, leading to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive 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= 11.7CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm IBM InfoSphere Information Server installationCheck if IBM InfoSphere Information Server is installed on the system. On Windows, look in Program Files for IBM\InfoSphere. On Linux/Unix, check /opt/IBM or the installation directory. Use the system inventory or package manager if available.Affected if IBM InfoSphere Information Server version 11.7 is installed and running
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Verify the exact version numberLocate the version information for the installation. Check the About dialog in the InfoSphere administration console, or look for version files in the installation directory (often in a version.txt, about.html, or similar file within the installation path).Affected if The installed version is exactly 11.7 (no patches applied)
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Identify exposed authentication endpointsReview network configuration and firewall rules to determine which InfoSphere services and ports are accessible from the network. Common ports include 9443, 9080, or custom ports configured during installation. Check the WebSphere or IIS console for exposed endpoints.Affected if InfoSphere web interfaces or authentication endpoints are reachable from untrusted network segments
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Check for unauthorized access indicatorsReview authentication and access logs for the InfoSphere services. Look for unusual authentication attempts, especially successful logins from unexpected IP addresses or at unusual times, or patterns indicating credential harvesting or session hijacking attempts.Affected if Logs show successful authentications from unknown sources or anomalous authentication patterns
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Assess network exposureDetermine if InfoSphere services are directly accessible from the internet or from less-trusted network zones. Use network scanning tools (nmap, netstat) to identify listening ports and verify which network interfaces they bind to.Affected if InfoSphere services bind to 0.0.0.0 or are accessible from untrusted networks without proper access controls
If IBM InfoSphere Information Server version 11.7 is installed and its authentication interfaces are network-accessible, the environment is likely affected by this CVE.
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 IBM patches for CVE-2021-29747 when available. Until then, restrict network access to InfoSphere services using firewalls or network segmentation, and monitor for unauthorized access attempts to authentication endpoints.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-29747 — 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-2021-29747 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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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.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data