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I2 Analysts NotebookApplication · Ibm

CVE-2021-39050

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 i2 Analyst's Notebook 9.2.0, 9.2.1, and 9.2.2 is vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow, caused by improper bounds checking. A local attacker could overflow a buffer and gain lower level privileges. IBM X-Force ID: 214440.

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 · high confidence

IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook versions 9.2.0, 9.2.1, and 9.2.2 contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability caused by improper bounds checking. A local attacker with access to the system can overflow a buffer to gain lower level privileges, potentially escalating from standard user to elevated permissions.

MitigationUpdate IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook to the latest patched version provided by IBM. Apply vendor security patches as soon as practical and ensure the principle of least privilege is enforced for local users.

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
I2 Analysts NotebookApplication
Affected:all versions

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook version
    Open the application and navigate to Help > About, or check the installed programs list in Control Panel > Programs and Features for the exact version number
    Affected if The installed version is 9.2.0, 9.2.1, or 9.2.2
  2. Verify application executable location
    Locate the main executable (typically in Program Files\IBM\i2\Analyst's Notebook or similar path) and note its permissions
    Affected if The executable exists and is accessible to standard users
  3. Check current user privilege level
    Run 'whoami /all' or check User Account Control settings to determine if you are running as a standard user versus an administrator
    Affected if You are running as a standard (non-privileged) user on a system where IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook is installed
  4. Review local user accounts
    Open Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users to see all local accounts on the system
    Affected if Multiple local user accounts exist with standard user privileges, any of whom could potentially exploit this vulnerability

Your environment is affected if IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook versions 9.2.0 through 9.2.2 are installed and the system permits local standard users to access the application executable.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook to the latest patched version provided by IBM. Apply vendor security patches as soon as practical and ensure the principle of least privilege is enforced for local users.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Obtain the patched version from IBM (contact IBM Support or check IBM Fix Central for the latest security update addressing CVE-2021-39050)

  1. 1. Verify current installed version of IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook by checking the application's About or Help section
  2. 2. Contact IBM Support or visit the official IBM support portal to obtain the latest security patch for this vulnerability
  3. 3. Download the security update/patch from IBM's official channels
  4. 4. Back up all critical data and configuration files before applying the update
  5. 5. Apply the security patch following IBM's documented installation procedures
  6. 6. Restart the application and verify the patch was applied successfully
  7. 7. Confirm the patched version addresses CVE-2021-39050 by reviewing the patch release notes
Caveat Consult IBM's patch documentation for any specific compatibility or configuration considerations

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in I2 Analysts Notebook Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-39050 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data