IBM Guardium Data Protection: Buffer overflow in Sniffer component
Summary
IBM Guardium Data Protection versions 12.0, 12.1 and 12.2 contain a buffer overflow (CWE-120) in the Sniffer component. A remote attacker can exploit it without authentication or user interaction to execute arbitrary code, as described in IBM's bulletin. IBM rates the flaw CVSS 8.1 with high attack complexity, while NVD lists 9.8 with low attack complexity, so the actual exposure depends on the conditions in your environment.
Affected
- IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.0
- IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.1
- IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.2
- Affected component: Sniffer component
Fixed in
- Apply the latest IBM Guardium Data Protection Sniffer patch (named in the IBM bulletin as SqlGuard_12.0p4018_SnifferUpdate; confirm on IBM Fix Central).
- Fixed version numbers per release line: Unknown.
Workaround
- No workaround is listed in the IBM bulletin (Workarounds and Mitigations: None).
- Restricting network access to Guardium appliances is a general measure and not an IBM-documented mitigation.
Exploitation
- Not listed in the CISA KEV catalog (per research notes).
- CISA SSVC assessment: Exploitation none, Automatable no, Technical Impact total.
- No public proof of concept found; this does not rule one out.
Our recommendation
- Inventory all Guardium 12.0 to 12.2 collectors and aggregators.
- Confirm the applicable Sniffer patch on IBM bulletin 7291674 and install it.
- Restrict network access to Guardium management and monitored-traffic interfaces.
- Review the full bulletin for the other Sniffer and S-TAP CVEs it covers.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- IBM Security Bulletin 7291674 www.ibm.com
- Rapid7 vulners entry for CVE-2026-84198 vulners.com
- Strix CVE entry for CVE-2026-84198 www.strix.ai
- Safeguard blog on CVE-2026-84198 safeguard.sh
- IBM Guardium Sniffer CVE mirror cve.imfht.com
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 30 Oct 2026, 20:13.
Original description (NVD)
IBM Guardium Data Protection 12.0, 12.1, and 12.2 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code due to a buffer overflow.
NVD references (1)
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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