Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessAuthenticate as high-privileged appliance user
-
DeliveryInvoke SUID-root ssh_config_wrapper
-
ExploitInject shell metacharacters in arguments
-
ExecutionCommand executes as root
-
ImpactFull appliance compromise
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization OS command sanitization, avoid shell exec
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires an already-authenticated, high-privileged user account on the Guardium Data Protection 12.2 appliance (PR:H) and the ability to execute the SUID-root ssh_config_wrapper binary with attacker-controlled command-line arguments; exploitation is a local privilege-escalation to root rather than remote entry. Limiting factors: the attacker must already hold a high-privileged foothold on the appliance, the vulnerable ssh_config_wrapper component must be present (version 12.2), and despite the AV:N label the SUID-binary nature indicates local invocation is needed. |
| Impact | This is a moderate-severity local privilege-escalation issue (CVSS 7.2) rather than a remote-takeover emergency. The published CVSS vector states AV:N (network) with PR:H (high privileges required), but the description - a SUID-root wrapper binary (ssh_config_wrapper) abused by an already-authenticated high-privileged user - strongly implies LOCAL access (AV:L); the attacker must already be on the appliance and be able to invoke the SUID binary. This AV:N-vs-local-SUID discrepancy should be verified with IBM; it materially lowers real-world exposure because the attacker already needs a privileged foothold. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or public POC is provided, so exploitation signals are: no public exploit identified at time of analysis, no evidence of active exploitation. The real value of this bug is privilege escalation from a high-privileged (non-root) operator to full root on the Guardium appliance, not initial access. Priority: patch in normal maintenance cycles - it is a genuine root-escalation primitive but gated behind existing high-privilege access and lacks any exploitation-in-the-wild evidence. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An authenticated high-privileged user on an IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 appliance (e.g. a compromised operator or CLI account) invokes the SUID-root ssh_config_wrapper and passes crafted arguments containing shell metacharacters. Because the wrapper runs as root and fails to sanitize attacker-controlled arguments, the injected command executes with root privileges, giving the attacker full control of the appliance. No public POC is identified at this time. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 08, 2026
Local privilege escalation in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 lets an already-authenticated, high-privileged user gain root-level command execution by feeding attacker-controlled arguments to the SUID-root ssh_config_wrapper component. Because the component runs with effective UID 0, successful argument injection converts a privileged-but-limited foothold into full root control of the appliance, with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This is a moderate-severity escalation issue rather than a remote-takeover emergency: the attacker must already hold a high-privileged account and be able to invoke the vulnerable binary locally, and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis. A vendor patch is available, though the specific fixed build is not enumerated in the supplied data.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor patch available from IBM; the advisory at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7288035 is the authoritative source for the exact fixed Guardium Data Protection build, which is not enumerated in the data available for this analysis, so consult that page (or IBM support) to identify and deploy the corrected level for your 12.2 installation before assuming you are covered. If immediate patching is not possible, the most direct compensating control is to remove or disable the setuid bit from ssh_config_wrapper (for example, chmod u-s on the binary) so it can no longer execute as root - the trade-off is that any Guardium functionality or administrative workflow that depends on that helper running as root will break or require alternate configuration, so validate against your operational procedures first and track it as a temporary measure. In parallel, restrict and audit local shell access on the appliance so that only the minimum necessary accounts retain high privilege, since exploitation requires an existing PR:H foothold, and configure process accounting or host-based auditing to alert on execution of ssh_config_wrapper with unusual or shell-metacharacter-laden arguments. As with any local privilege-escalation flaw in a SUID-root binary, these controls reduce likelihood and detect misuse but do not substitute for installing the vendor fix.
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 root cause is CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command, i.e. OS command injection) inside ssh_config_wrapper, a setuid-root helper shipped with IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2. A SUID-root binary executes with an effective user ID of 0 regardless of the invoking user, so any command-construction flaw in the wrapper - passing unsanitized, user-influenced command-line arguments into a shell or an exec/spawn path - yields arbitrary command execution at root. The CPE string cpe:2.3:a:ibm:guardium_data_protection:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* flags the Guardium Data Protection product family as affected, with the advisory text scoping the flaw to version 12.2. Note a divergence between the published CVSS vector, which uses AV:N, and the assessed vector, which uses AV:L; the SUID-binary nature of the component indicates that local invocation with attacker-controlled arguments is the realistic attack path, with PR:H reflecting that the invoking account must already be highly privileged. GUIs, CLIs, and bundled configuration tooling that shell out to ssh_config_wrapper are the likely invocation surfaces to review.
Know when Guardium Data Protection gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
A SUID-root wrapper invoked by an existing high-privileged operator is a local privilege escalation, so AV:L and PR:H; argument injection is reliable (AC:L) and yields full root impact (C/I/A:H).
Primary rating from Vendor (ibm).
CVSS VectorVendor: ibm
DescriptionCVE.org
IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 is affected by a command injection vulnerability in the SUID-root ssh_config_wrapper component. An authenticated high-privileged user can inject arbitrary commands through attacker-controlled arguments, resulting in command execution with root privileges.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity local privilege escalation flaw in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 allows an attacker who already holds a high-privileged account on the appliance to escalate to full root control by manipulating input to a SUID-root component. Successful abuse would give an insider or a compromised administrative account complete control over a system that monitors and stores sensitive database activity, exposing data confidentiality, integrity, and availability across every database Guardium protects. Leadership should care because the affected asset is a security control itself: root compromise of the monitoring appliance can blind or falsify oversight of regulated data estate.
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
OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands.
More in Guardium Data Protection
View allSQL injection in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 allows a remote authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary SQL comma
Unauthenticated remote attackers can bypass security restrictions in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 through the Chang
Missing authentication in the LoadBalancerServlet of IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 allows unauthenticated, network-r
Unauthenticated remote code execution in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 lets a network attacker who can reach the app
Unauthenticated path traversal in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.0, 12.1, and 12.2 can be leveraged by remote attackers
Unauthenticated insecure deserialization in the Change Audit System (CAS) listener of IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2
Authentication bypass in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 lets an unauthenticated remote attacker evade the IP-based ac
Missing authentication on a critical management function in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 and 12.2.2 allows unauthen
Missing authentication in the edge-controller component of IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.1 and 12.2.2 allows unauthent
Unauthenticated SQL injection in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 lets a remote attacker submit crafted input that is c
A heap-based buffer overflow in IBM Guardium Data Protection's S-TAP TrafficTap TDS login reassembly routine allows an u
Second-order SQL injection in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to submit SQL
EUVD-2026-95166
GHSA-7xw6-2x57-6mvm
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB