CVE-2017-1597 in Security Guardium
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Security Guardium 10.0, 10.0.1, 10.1, 10.1.2, 10.1.3, 10.1.4, and 10.5 Database Activity Monitor does not require that users should have strong passwords by default, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts. IBM X-Force ID: 132610.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/19/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-1597 affects IBM Security Guardium versions 10.0 through 10.5, specifically within the Database Activity Monitor component. This security weakness represents a critical configuration flaw that undermines the fundamental principle of authentication security by failing to enforce strong password policies. The vulnerability resides in the default configuration settings of the Guardium system, which does not mandate the use of robust authentication credentials, thereby creating an exploitable condition that significantly weakens the overall security posture of database monitoring environments.
This flaw constitutes a violation of security best practices and aligns with CWE-521 Weak Password Requirements, where the system fails to enforce adequate password strength controls. The vulnerability allows attackers to compromise user accounts through credential guessing, brute force attacks, or dictionary attacks without facing the typical barriers that strong password policies would impose. The absence of default strong password enforcement creates a persistent risk vector that can be exploited across multiple versions of the Guardium platform, affecting organizations that rely on this database activity monitoring solution for security operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential compromise, as it directly affects the integrity and confidentiality of database monitoring activities. When attackers successfully exploit weak password defaults, they gain unauthorized access to database activity logs, monitoring configurations, and potentially sensitive data that the Guardium system is designed to protect. This compromises the very purpose of database activity monitoring, as attackers can manipulate or disable monitoring capabilities, potentially remaining undetected while accessing or modifying database resources. The vulnerability affects the principle of least privilege and undermines the trust model that security systems depend upon for effective protection.
Organizations should implement immediate remediation measures including manual configuration updates to enforce strong password policies, regular security assessments, and comprehensive password auditing procedures. The mitigation strategy should include establishing mandatory password complexity requirements, implementing account lockout mechanisms, and conducting regular security training for administrators. This vulnerability highlights the importance of secure configuration management and demonstrates how default settings can create security risks that require proactive management. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as multi-factor authentication and privileged access management solutions to reduce the attack surface and provide defense in depth against credential-based attacks. The incident underscores the necessity of following security frameworks like NIST SP 800-63B for authentication and the ATT&CK framework's credential access techniques, which emphasize the importance of strong authentication as a fundamental security control.