CVE-2020-4429 in Data Risk Manager
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Data Risk Manager 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, 2.0.4, 2.0.5, and 2.0.6 contains a default password for an IDRM administrative account. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to login and execute arbitrary code on the system with root privileges. IBM X-Force ID: 180534.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/04/2025
IBM Data Risk Manager versions 2.0.1 through 2.0.6 contain a critical security flaw involving a default password for an administrative account that poses significant operational risks. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-798 category of using hardcoded credentials, representing a fundamental security misconfiguration that allows unauthorized remote access to critical system components. The presence of default administrative credentials creates an attack surface that directly violates security best practices and industry standards such as those outlined in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO/IEC 27001 requirements for secure system configuration.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves hardcoded authentication credentials that are not properly secured or changed during the installation process. Attackers can exploit this weakness remotely to establish administrative sessions without requiring legitimate user credentials or authentication mechanisms. Once authenticated with root privileges, malicious actors can execute arbitrary code, modify system configurations, access sensitive data, and potentially escalate their access to other networked systems. This vulnerability represents a critical pathway for privilege escalation attacks and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to include potential data breaches, system compromise, and complete loss of administrative control over the IBM Data Risk Manager environment. Organizations utilizing these affected versions face immediate risks of data exfiltration, system corruption, and disruption of business operations. The default credential issue creates a persistent threat vector that remains active until properly addressed through configuration changes or system updates. Security teams must consider this vulnerability as a high-priority remediation item within the context of the MITRE ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation categories.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including changing default passwords, implementing robust access controls, and conducting comprehensive security assessments of their IBM Data Risk Manager deployments. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper system hardening practices and adherence to security configuration guidelines. IBM has released patches and updates to address this specific flaw, and organizations must apply these remediations promptly to eliminate the default credential exposure. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should include verification of credential configurations to prevent similar issues in other system components and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements such as PCI DSS and HIPAA.