CVE-2021-20418Network attack vector

Account compromise via default weak password policy

Published Aug 11, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Weak password policy in IBM Security Guardium 11.2 allows attackers to compromise user accounts through passwords accepted by default. The default password-policy configuration accepts passwords without enforcing the product's strong-password requirements, reducing resistance to password guessing. Exploitation requires an account to retain a weak password and grants only the access and privileges assigned to the compromised account.

CVSS severity4.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.96%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Weak password policy in IBM Security Guardium 11.2 allows attackers to compromise user accounts through passwords accepted by default. The default password-policy configuration accepts passwords without enforcing the product's strong-password requirements, reducing resistance to password guessing. Exploitation requires an account to retain a weak password and grants only the access and privileges assigned to the compromised account.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-20418
Published
Aug 11, 2021
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM Security Guardium
Classifications
CWE-521, T1110.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 11, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=11.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM Security Guardiumversion=11.2

Published CVSS scores

9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.7IBMCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-521Weak Password Requirements
T1110.001Password Guessing

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo