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CVE-2026-85542

HIGH 8.8

Published 2026-09-25 · Last modified 2026-09-27

IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2 is affected by a command injection vulnerability in the GIM bundle import functionality. An authenticated attacker can provide a crafted GIM bundle that causes attacker-controlled arguments to be passed to the tar command, resulting in arbitrary command execution with elevated privileges on the Central Manager.

ELEVATED IMPACT

Severe if exploited (CVSS 8.8), but no known exploitation and low modeled probability. Patch on a normal cadence.

Exploitation likelihood

2.4%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 84th percentile

○ In CISA KEV ○ Public exploit / PoC

Impact if exploited

8.8CVSS 3.1 · HIGH

  • ConfidentialityHigh
  • IntegrityHigh
  • AvailabilityHigh

What an attacker needs

  • ✓Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
  • ⚠Privileges: Requires a low-privilege account
  • ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
  • ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable

✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it

Proof of concept & exploit code

Test against your own equipment

curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-85542/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).

Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-85542/poc.json

Affected

Vendors Ibm

Products Guardium Data Protection

Weakness (CWE)

  • CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Known Affected Software Configurations

VendorProductVersion range
IbmGuardium Data Protection12.1
IbmGuardium Data Protection12.2

All CVSS metrics

  • HIGH 8.8 v3.1 · CNA Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  • HIGH 8.8 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

Patches & mitigations

Sources: NVD · CVE.org · EPSS