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CVE-2026-81657 – Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution – IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2

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Summary

CVE-2026-81657 is a critical deserialization-of-untrusted-data vulnerability (CWE-502) affecting IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2. The flaw allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on the underlying system by submitting a crafted serialized object to a vulnerable service. The issue carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical), reflecting network exploitability with no authentication or user interaction required and full impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Technical details

  • Root cause: The application deserializes untrusted, attacker-supplied data without adequate type validation or integrity checks, allowing crafted serialized objects to trigger unintended code execution during deserialization (CWE-502).
  • Trigger conditions: An attacker sends a specially crafted serialized payload to a network-reachable component of IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2; no valid credentials or user interaction are needed.
  • Attack vector: Network (remote), with low attack complexity — the vulnerability can be exploited directly over the network without local access.
  • Impact: Successful exploitation results in arbitrary code execution on the host running Guardium Data Protection, giving the attacker full control over the affected system, including access to sensitive database activity monitoring data, audit logs, and potentially the broader environment Guardium is deployed to protect.

Affected software

  • IBM Guardium Data Protection version 12.2 (including 12.2.0)

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 9.8 (Critical)
  • Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: Apply the IBM-provided fix pack SqlGuard_12.0p233_FixPack for IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2, available via IBM Support Fix Central.
  • If immediate patching is not possible: IBM has not published a workaround for this issue; restrict network access to Guardium Data Protection management and appliance interfaces to trusted administrative networks only, and monitor for anomalous inbound traffic or unexpected process execution on Guardium hosts until the fix pack can be applied.
  • Follow-up: After patching, review IBM’s related security bulletin, as this fix pack also addresses multiple other high- and critical-severity vulnerabilities (including SQL injection and missing-authentication issues) disclosed alongside CVE-2026-81657 for the same product version.

References

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