Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach Load Balancer Servlet endpoint
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DeliveryCraft malicious SQL in request parameter
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ExploitInjection executes in Load Balancer Groups query
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ExecutionExtract or alter database data
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ImpactConfidentiality/integrity impact on appliance
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Parameterized queries, prepared statements
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Persistence The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires network reachability to the Load Balancer Servlet endpoint of a Guardium Data Protection 12.2 deployment where the Load Balancer Groups component is in use (typically multi-collector/aggregator load-balanced configurations). Per CVSS PR:N/UI:N, no authentication or user interaction is needed against the exposed endpoint. The primary limiting factor is exposure: Guardium appliances are usually deployed on internal management/security networks rather than public internet, so realistic risk depends on whether the servlet is reachable from an attacker's network position. Impact is confidentiality-weighted (C:H) with only limited integrity/availability effect (I:L/A:L). |
| Impact | This is a genuine high-priority issue among unauthenticated flaws, though signals are partly conflicting. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) describes network-reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated exploitation - the worst-case reachability profile - and CWE-89 SQL injection is a well-understood, reliably exploitable class. However, the impact metrics are asymmetric: C:H but I:L/A:L, meaning the vendor treats this primarily as a data-confidentiality exposure rather than a full database compromise, which is why the base score is 8.6 rather than 9.8 (contrast the sibling second-order SQLi CVE-2026-80441, scored 9.8 with full C:H/I:H/A:H). No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC were provided, so there is no evidence of active exploitation or automated weaponization - the elevated score is driven entirely by intrinsic reachability, not by observed threat activity. Net: patch promptly because it is unauthenticated and network-facing, but current data indicates no widespread in-the-wild campaign. Note the input Tags include 'Authentication Bypass,' which conflicts with the CWE-89 SQLi classification and appears to be a mislabel rather than a second vulnerability class. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A remote, unauthenticated attacker sends a crafted request to the Load Balancer Servlet endpoint of an internet- or network-reachable Guardium Data Protection 12.2 appliance, embedding malicious SQL in a parameter processed by the Load Balancer Groups component. The injected statements are executed against the backend database, allowing the attacker to read sensitive data (C:H) and perform limited modification. No public POC or exploit code was identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 18, 2026
Unauthenticated SQL injection in the Load Balancer Groups component of IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 allows remote attackers to reach the Load Balancer Servlet endpoint and inject arbitrary SQL statements, potentially exposing managed data and degrading the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the appliance (CVSS 8.6, with confidentiality impact rated high and integrity/availability impact limited). Per the CVSS vector PR:N/UI:N, no credentials or user interaction are required to attempt the attack, but practical risk depends on network exposure: Guardium appliances are normally deployed on internal management or security networks rather than the public internet, so reachability to the servlet is the principal gating condition. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and IBM has published remediation through its support advisory rather than confirmed in-the-wild activity.
RemediationAI
Patch available per vendor advisory: IBM documents the fix for CVE-2026-81626 at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7288040, and IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 installations should be updated to the remediated build specified there - the available intelligence states patch status as 'Available from vendor' but does not enumerate an exact fix version, so the precise patched release must be confirmed against that advisory before change planning. Until the fix is applied, the highest-value compensating control is network restriction: block or tightly ACL access to the Load Balancer Servlet endpoint so that only trusted management-network hosts and the peer collectors/aggregators that legitimately use it can connect, since the vulnerability requires network reachability and is unauthenticated (PR:N) - the trade-off is that overly broad blocking can break load-balanced collector/aggregator communication and must be scoped per deployment. Fronting the endpoint with a reverse proxy or WAF configured with SQL injection signatures adds inspection depth and can be deployed quickly, but signature-based filtering is bypassable and should be treated as defense in depth rather than a fix. If the Load Balancer Groups feature is not required in a given deployment, disabling or removing that component eliminates the attack surface entirely, with the obvious trade-off of losing load-balancing functionality across collectors. Because the impact is confidentiality-weighted (C:H), also review backend audit and database logs for anomalous or malformed queries against the Load Balancer Servlet as a detection measure.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The issue is a classic SQL injection (CWE-89) in the Load Balancer Groups functionality of IBM Guardium Data Protection, reached through the Load Balancer Servlet endpoint, an HTTP-facing component that coordinates load-balanced multi-collector and aggregator deployments. Root cause is the failure to neutralize user-supplied input before it is incorporated into SQL statements executed by the affected component, allowing an attacker to alter query logic, read data outside the intended result set, or otherwise influence database operations. Because the flaw is network-reachable with no authentication or user interaction (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U), the exposed servlet itself is the attack surface rather than any privileged administrative workflow; the impact vector is confidentiality-weighted (C:H) with only partial integrity and availability effects (I:L/A:L), consistent with data disclosure as the primary consequence and possible secondary disruption. Guardium is a database activity monitoring and data protection platform, so the data reachable through the backend query layer is often sensitive audit and monitored-database metadata, which raises the value of a successful injection. The supplied CPE string uses a wildcard version (cpe:2.3:a:ibm:guardium_data_protection:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*), so exact build-level identification must come from the vendor advisory and the EUVD entry, which scopes the issue to Guardium Data Protection 12.2.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L
Unauthenticated network-reachable SQLi via a servlet endpoint justifies AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N; vendor-assessed impact is confidentiality-heavy with limited integrity/availability, matching the 8.6 base.
Primary rating from Vendor (ibm).
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionNVD
IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 is vulnerable to a SQL injection vulnerability in the Load Balancer Groups component. An unauthenticated user can inject SQL statements through the Load Balancer Servlet endpoint, potentially resulting in unauthorized access to data and impact to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.
Executive ViewAI
IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2, a platform used to monitor and protect sensitive enterprise data, contains a high-severity unauthenticated SQL injection flaw that could allow an attacker to access or alter managed data if the Load Balancer Servlet endpoint is reachable. The primary organizational risk is concentrated in deployments exposed beyond trusted management or security networks, and leadership should care because compromise could undermine data protection controls and require costly incident response. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and IBM has published remediation through its support advisory.
Apply vendor patch.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
SQL injection exploits the way applications construct database queries by mixing user input directly into SQL statements.
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EUVD-2026-83304
GHSA-9h47-v7vr-8c8m
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB