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IBM Guardium EUVDEUVD-2026-83440

| CVE-2026-84086 HIGH
Path Traversal (CWE-22)
2026-09-18 ibm GHSA-v325-fqcr-w6gc
7.2
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: ibm
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Authenticate with high privileges
  2. Delivery
    Submit crafted traversal pathname
  3. Exploit
    Write file outside restricted directory
  4. Execution
    Trigger interpretation of planted file
  5. Impact
    Execute arbitrary code on appliance

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Requires a remote but authenticated session with HIGH privileges (PR:H) on the Guardium Data Protection 12.2 management interface - this is the primary limiting factor, restricting exploitation to already-trusted/administrative accounts rather than any authenticated user. No user interaction is needed (UI:N). Exploitation targets a file-handling feature that fails to constrain a pathname to its restricted directory; a functioning attack depends on reaching that specific endpoint and on the planted file being subsequently interpreted/executed by the appliance. The appliance is typically deployed on internal/segmented management networks, further narrowing realistic exposure.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 7.2 High) is internally consistent and credible: an unquoted/unlimited pathname (CWE-22) that an attacker can control to place or overwrite a file outside the intended directory can plausibly yield arbitrary code execution on the appliance, hence full C:H/I:H/A:H. The single dampening factor is PR:H - exploitation requires an already highly-privileged authenticated session, which sharply limits the realistic attacker population on this internal management appliance. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC are present in the supplied intelligence, so exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' Unlike several sibling Guardium CVEs where an 'RCE' tag was attached to what was really client-side XSS, here the RCE claim is coherent with a path-traversal-to-file-write primitive, so I do not dispute the labeling. Net: a genuine High-severity flaw but not an emergency - the PR:H gate plus a niche, typically network-segmented appliance footprint place it below unauthenticated RCE siblings (e.g. the deserialization CVEs) in patch priority. No data conflicts detected between the vector and the description.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker who already holds high-privilege credentials on a Guardium Data Protection 12.2 appliance submits a request containing a crafted pathname with traversal sequences (e.g. ../) to a file-handling function, causing a malicious file to be written or an existing file to be overwritten outside the intended restricted directory. That planted file (e.g. a script, config, or web-executable artifact) is subsequently interpreted, giving arbitrary code execution on the appliance. No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.7% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 18, 2026

Arbitrary code execution is possible on IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 when a remote attacker who already holds high-privilege credentials abuses a file-handling feature that fails to constrain a user-supplied pathname to its intended restricted directory (CWE-22). The requirement for HIGH privileges (PR:H) on the management interface is the primary limiting factor, restricting realistic exploitation to trusted administrative accounts on an appliance that is normally deployed on internal or segmented networks, though no user interaction is required (UI:N). The vendor has published a fix advisory, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis (no CISA KEV listing and no published proof-of-concept in the supplied intelligence).

RemediationAI

Patch available per vendor advisory: IBM has published a fix for this issue at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7288035, which should be consulted for the exact fixed build and applied to Guardium Data Protection 12.2 at the earliest opportunity - no specific version string is provided in the supplied intelligence, so the advisory is the authoritative source and no version number should be assumed. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, the most effective compensating control is to restrict reachability of the management interface to a tightly scoped administrative network segment, since exploitation requires a high-privilege session (PR:H) and the perceived risk depends heavily on the appliance's typical placement on internal management networks; the trade-off is reduced operational convenience for administrators and any integrated tooling that connects remotely. In addition, review and minimize the population of high-privilege accounts, since the vulnerability is only reachable by that class of user, and audit those accounts for unexpected activity. Where the file-upload or import feature that handles the vulnerable pathname is not operationally required, disable or restrict it, accepting that doing so will break dependent workflows. Because the weakness enables files to be written outside the intended directory, monitor for file creation or modification in unexpected filesystem locations on the appliance and alert on it; this detects exploitation attempts but does not prevent them, so it is a detection supplement rather than a substitute for patching.

Affected VersionsENISA

Guardium Data Protection 12.2

Affected Packages

euvd guardium_data_protection no fix

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 root cause is CWE-22, improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, i.e. classic path traversal in a file-handling routine on the Guardium appliance. A pathname that the application neither canonicalizes nor confines to its intended base directory allows an operator-supplied value to resolve outside that directory via relative segments or equivalent path syntax, permitting a file to be planted or overwritten at a location the appliance later reads or interprets - the mechanism by which a traversal primitive escalates into arbitrary code execution. The supplied CPE cpe:2.3:a:ibm:guardium_data_protection:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* is wildcarded and does not bound the vulnerable versions, so the authoritative scope is the vendor advisory's stated affected releases (12.2 per the CVE record). The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (base 7.2 High) is internally consistent and credible: network reachability with low attack complexity, gated behind high privileges, yielding full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the appliance through a single vulnerable component scope.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (ibm) PRIMARY 7.2 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.2 HIGH

Network-reachable authenticated endpoint (AV:N/AC:L) but requires high-privilege account (PR:H); traversal-to-code-execution grants full host compromise (C:H/I:H/A:H), scope unchanged as the appliance is the vulnerable system.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (ibm).

CVSS VectorVendor: ibm

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 could allow a remote authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code due to improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 contains a high-severity flaw that could allow a trusted administrator to run unauthorized commands on the appliance, potentially undermining the platform's data-security monitoring and compliance controls. The risk is most relevant to organizations that grant broad or poorly governed high-privilege access to the Guardium management interface. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and leadership should prioritize applying the vendor's fix while tightening privileged access to this security-critical system.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.7%
Top 50% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
niche enterprise database-activity-monitoring appliance, limited deployment footprint
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.7%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

37
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +36
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

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