Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessSend crafted string in monitored DB traffic
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DeliveryPayload stored in Quick Search index
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ExploitAnalyst opens Quick Search results grid
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ExecutionScript executes in authenticated browser
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ImpactHijack console session / act as user
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Output encoding, context-aware escaping
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires two conditions drawn from the description: (1) the attacker must be able to influence database traffic that Guardium actively monitors, so a monitored database must be in scope and reachable by the attacker's queries/data; and (2) an authenticated Guardium user must subsequently open the Quick Search results grid, which renders the stored payload - this user interaction is a real limiting factor despite the vendor's UI:N rating. Limiting factors: the payload only executes within the browser of a logged-in Guardium operator (requires an active, privileged console session to victimize), and only when the specific Quick Search feature is used. No special non-default configuration is named beyond normal Guardium database monitoring being enabled. |
| Impact | IBM assigns CVSS 9.3 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N), but the signals do not uniformly support a top-priority rating. The high score is driven by PR:N (the injecting attacker is unauthenticated), S:C (scope change, consistent with script executing in a victim's browser rather than the Guardium server), and C:H. Two metrics are questionable for a stored XSS of this description. UI:N is unusual: the payload only fires when an authenticated Guardium operator opens the Quick Search results grid, which is effectively victim interaction (UI:R) - verify with vendor, as this inflates the base score. C:H is also aggressive for browser-context XSS where impact is typically session/data theft within the UI; C:L/I:L is more defensible. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC were provided, so there is no evidence of exploitation activity. Net assessment: a genuine, patchable flaw in a security product (which raises the stakes if the Guardium console is compromised), but exploitation is non-trivial - it requires injecting a payload into monitored database traffic AND a privileged Guardium user viewing the tainted grid. This is a prioritize-and-patch item for Guardium operators, not a widespread drive-by threat, and the 9.3 overstates real-world ease relative to the described preconditions. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who can generate or manipulate database traffic monitored by Guardium (e.g., by issuing SQL containing a crafted string against a monitored database) plants a stored XSS payload. When a legitimate authenticated Guardium analyst later opens the Quick Search results grid, the script executes in their browser, potentially hijacking their session or acting within the Guardium console on their behalf. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 08, 2026
Stored cross-site scripting in IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 lets an unauthenticated attacker who can influence traffic on a database that Guardium monitors plant a malicious script that later executes in the browser of a logged-in Guardium operator when the Quick Search results grid renders the stored payload (CWE-79). IBM rates this CVSS 9.3 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N), but an independent reassessment places it at CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N because the victim must actively open the Quick Search grid and hold an authenticated, privileged console session - a real limiting factor the vendor's UI:N rating does not capture. Exploitation therefore requires two conditions together: attacker-controlled data must reach the monitored database traffic Guardium ingests, and a Guardium user must subsequently view those results; no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis and the issue is not confirmed actively exploited (CISA KEV).
RemediationAI
IBM lists patch availability from the vendor, so the primary action is to apply the IBM-supplied fix for Guardium Data Protection 12.2 and confirm the fixed level against the vendor advisory at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7288035 - the advisory is the only authoritative source for the exact patched build, and no independent patched version number is asserted here. Because the input states patch availability without an enumerated version, treat this as "Patch available per vendor advisory" and validate the installed level after upgrading rather than assuming the wildcarded CPE range is closed. If immediate patching is not possible, compensating controls must target the two conditions the exploit chain depends on: restrict which database traffic Guardium ingests and who can trigger the rendering path, for example by limiting monitored database sources to trusted segments so untrusted clients cannot inject query text into Guardium's data store, and by restricting console access to the Quick Search feature (role-based access control, or temporarily disabling the Quick Search results grid) so a malicious stored payload has no authenticated viewer - the trade-off is reduced monitoring coverage and reduced analyst functionality. Operators should also be aware that any already-stored payloads persist in historical result data, so access controls and browser-side protections (strict content security policy on the console, session termination on suspicion of compromise) should remain in place until the fix is applied and the affected data is reviewed or purged; rotating Guardium console sessions and credentials after patching is prudent given the potential for script execution in a privileged session context.
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-79, improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation, manifested here as a stored (persistent) XSS rather than a reflected one. IBM Guardium Data Protection is a database activity monitoring and data protection platform that continuously inspects SQL traffic on monitored database servers; captured queries and session data are indexed and surfaced to analysts through console features such as the Quick Search results grid. Because the malicious content originates on the monitoring side - from database traffic the appliance observes rather than from a web request - the payload is persisted into Guardium's own result sets and rendered later, which is what makes it stored XSS. Successful rendering occurs in the context of the Guardium web console, and the CVSS scope change (S:C) reflects that the injected script executes with the privileges and origin of the console rather than of the attacker's database traffic, allowing session or data access beyond the original injection channel. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:ibm:guardium_data_protection:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* indicates the affected component is the Guardium Data Protection application itself and that the advisory's version constraint is expressed by product family rather than by an enumerated build; the cited affected release line is 12.2.
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Severity by source
Sources disagree (Medium–Critical)AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Unauthenticated injector (PR:N) via network, but a Guardium user must open the grid for the stored payload to fire (UI:R); browser-context XSS warrants S:C with C:L/I:L, not C:H.
vuln.today treats the vendor’s rating as authoritative. A higher third-party CVSS (e.g. CISA-ADP) is shown for transparency but does not drive the headline severity.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionNVD
IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting (XSS) in the Quick Search results grid. An unauthenticated attacker who can influence monitored database traffic could execute malicious script in the browser of an authenticated Guardium user.
Executive ViewAI
IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2, the platform our teams rely on to monitor and audit database activity, contains a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw rated 9.3 that can let an attacker with visibility into monitored database traffic plant malicious code that executes in the browser of a privileged Guardium operator. Because the console is used by security staff with broad visibility into database activity and policy controls, a successful compromise could expose sensitive monitoring data and allow tampering with the console those operators trust. Leadership should care because the affected system is itself a security control, so weakening it erodes assurance across the regulated data environment it protects.
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
Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding.
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EUVD-2026-95243
GHSA-f22c-hg74-mc2p
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB