Description

IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, delete arbitrary files, or execute arbitrary code due to improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-25T14:17:20.050Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-25T14:17:20.050Z",
  "executiveSummary": "IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 is susceptible to a path traversal vulnerability stemming from improper input validation regarding directory path limitations.\nThis vulnerability allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to manipulate file paths to access, modify, or delete sensitive system files outside of the intended directory structure.\nThe scope of impact includes unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data, potential file integrity compromise through deletion, and the possibility of remote code execution (RCE) if the attacker can influence configuration files or execute binaries via the traversal vector.\nThe flaw affects IBM Guardium Data Protection version 12.2. Given the criticality of Guardium in managing database security and auditing, this vulnerability poses a severe risk to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the underlying data security infrastructure.\nExploitation does not require elevated privileges, and the vulnerability is reachable over the network, making it a high-priority threat that requires immediate attention from security administrators.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is classified as an improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, commonly referred to as a path traversal or directory traversal flaw (CWE-22).\nThe root cause lies in the application's failure to adequately sanitize user-supplied input when constructing file system paths. When the system processes requests that involve file operations, it fails to filter out sequences such as '../' or absolute path identifiers, allowing the path resolution logic to escape the designated sandbox or chroot environment.\nAn attacker can exploit this by crafting malicious requests containing path traversal sequences to navigate the file system hierarchy. By traversing outside the restricted directory, the attacker can target sensitive configuration files, internal databases, or system binaries.\nThe attack flow typically involves identifying an application endpoint that accepts file names or paths as parameters. The attacker intercepts these requests and injects traversal characters to point the application toward restricted files. For instance, if the application expects a local file access, the attacker might supply a path such as '../../../../etc/passwd' or other sensitive system resources.\nRegarding impact, the ability to read sensitive information leads to the exposure of credentials, environment variables, and system configuration data. The ability to delete arbitrary files may result in a denial of service (DoS) by removing critical application files or dependencies. Furthermore, the capacity for arbitrary code execution arises if the attacker can overwrite executable scripts or configuration files that are subsequently parsed or executed by the application or the underlying operating system.\nThe vulnerability resides in the core file-handling component of IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2. Because the application interacts with sensitive data, the exposure of its internal file structure is particularly dangerous. There is no requirement for prior authentication, as the flaw is accessible via the network interface, potentially allowing any remote attacker to interact with the vulnerable file processing logic.\nSuccessful exploitation requires that the process under which the Guardium application runs has sufficient permissions to access the targeted file system areas. If the application runs with elevated privileges, the attacker inherits those capabilities, significantly increasing the potential post-exploitation damage."
}