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OpeniamApplication

CVE-2020-13421

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.2.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
OpenIAM before 4.2.0.3 has Incorrect Access Control for the Create User, Modify User Permissions, and Password Reset actions.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

OpenIAM before version 4.2.0.3 contains incorrect access control vulnerabilities in its user management functions. The Create User, Modify User Permissions, and Password Reset actions can be accessed without proper authorization, allowing unauthenticated attackers to create admin accounts, escalate privileges, or take over existing user accounts.

MitigationUpgrade OpenIAM to version 4.2.0.3 or later which contains the access control fixes. Additionally, review and enforce role-based access control (RBAC) policies on all user management endpoints and implement additional authentication layers for sensitive operations.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
OpeniamApplication
Affected:< 4.2.0.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify OpenIAM version
    Locate the installed OpenIAM version by checking the product's about page, version info in the administration console, or version file in the installation directory
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 4.2.0.3
  2. Verify unauthenticated access to Create User endpoint
    Attempt to access the Create User function or API endpoint without providing credentials (e.g., using a web browser or curl to request the user creation URL)
    Affected if The endpoint responds or allows access without requiring authentication
  3. Verify unauthenticated access to Modify User Permissions endpoint
    Attempt to access the Modify User Permissions function or API endpoint without providing credentials
    Affected if The endpoint responds or allows access without requiring authentication
  4. Verify unauthenticated access to Password Reset endpoint
    Attempt to access the Password Reset function or API endpoint without providing authentication
    Affected if The endpoint responds or allows password reset operations without requiring authentication
  5. Review access control configuration
    Check the OpenIAM security or access control settings in the administration panel to see if role-based access control (RBAC) is properly enforced on user management endpoints
    Affected if RBAC is disabled, misconfigured, or not applied to user management functions

You are affected if your OpenIAM version is below 4.2.0.3 and any of the user management endpoints (Create User, Modify User Permissions, Password Reset) are accessible without authentication.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.2.0.3 or later
Fixed in 4.2.0.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade OpenIAM to version 4.2.0.3 or later which contains the access control fixes. Additionally, review and enforce role-based access control (RBAC) policies on all user management endpoints and implement additional authentication layers for sensitive operations.

Recommended fix Low confidence

OpenIAM 4.2.0.3 or later

  1. 1. Backup your current OpenIAM installation and database before proceeding with any upgrade.
  2. 2. Download OpenIAM version 4.2.0.3 or later from the official OpenIAM distribution channel.
  3. 3. Review the upgrade documentation specific to your current version for any migration scripts or pre-upgrade requirements.
  4. 4. Execute the upgrade following the standard OpenIAM upgrade procedure.
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify that the access control fix is applied by testing Create User, Modify User Permissions, and Password Reset functions with non-privileged accounts.
  6. 6. Confirm the upgrade was successful and the vulnerability is remediated.
Caveat Review upgrade documentation for version-specific migration requirements and potential compatibility considerations

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Openiam Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-13421 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data