CVE-2025-36020
📋 TL;DR
IBM Guardium Data Protection transmits sensitive credential information in cleartext, allowing remote attackers to intercept and obtain authentication credentials. This affects all IBM Guardium Data Protection deployments that transmit credentials over unencrypted channels. Attackers can potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive database monitoring systems.
💻 Affected Systems
- IBM Guardium Data Protection
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers intercept administrative credentials, gain full control of Guardium deployment, access sensitive database audit logs, and potentially pivot to production databases.
Likely Case
Attackers capture user credentials, gain unauthorized access to Guardium console, view sensitive database monitoring data, and potentially modify audit policies.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and encryption, attackers cannot intercept cleartext traffic, limiting impact to authenticated users on secured networks.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires network position to intercept traffic. No authentication bypass needed if credentials are transmitted in cleartext.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: IBM Guardium Data Protection 11.6
Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7241547
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Upgrade to IBM Guardium Data Protection version 11.6 or later. 2. Apply the security patch from IBM Fix Central. 3. Verify encryption is enabled for all credential transmissions.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Enforce TLS Encryption
allConfigure all Guardium components to use TLS/SSL encryption for all network communications
Configure SSL/TLS in Guardium Central Manager settings
Update all component configurations to require encrypted connections
Network Segmentation
allIsolate Guardium management interfaces to trusted networks only
Implement firewall rules to restrict access to Guardium ports
Use VLAN segmentation for Guardium traffic
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network-level encryption (VPN/IPsec) for all Guardium traffic
- Deploy inline SSL/TLS inspection proxies to enforce encryption
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Use network packet capture tools (Wireshark, tcpdump) to monitor traffic between Guardium components and check for cleartext credential transmissionCheck Version:
gdp_version command or check version in Guardium Central Manager web interfaceVerify Fix Applied:
Verify all network traffic is encrypted (TLS/SSL) and no credentials appear in cleartext during authentication processes📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Failed authentication attempts from unexpected IPs
- Multiple login attempts in short timeframes
- Access from previously unseen user accounts
Network Indicators:
- Cleartext HTTP traffic containing 'password', 'pwd', or authentication tokens
- Unencrypted traffic on Guardium management ports
SIEM Query:
source="guardium" AND (event_type="authentication" OR event_type="login") AND (src_ip NOT IN trusted_networks)