CVE-2021-20136
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 · uneditedManageEngine Log360 Builds < 5235 are affected by an improper access control vulnerability allowing database configuration overwrite. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send a specially crafted message to Log360 to change its backend database to an attacker-controlled database and to force Log360 to restart. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to achieve remote code execution by replacing files executed by Log360 on startup.
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 analysisA sensitive function is reachable with no authentication at all, so anyone who finds the endpoint can use it. These are routinely discovered by automated scanning. The fix is to require and enforce authentication on every privileged path, with no exceptions left open.
General guidance for the missing authentication class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
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<= 5.2= 5.3CVSS 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
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 · scopedBuild 5235 or later (contact ManageEngine for the specific version number containing the fix)
- 1. Identify the current build number of the ManageEngine Log360 installation
- 2. If the current build is less than 5235, plan for an upgrade to build 5235 or later
- 3. Download the latest ManageEngine Log360 version from the official vendor website (https://www.manageengine.com/)
- 4. Before upgrading, perform a complete backup of the current Log360 configuration and database
- 5. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first
- 6. Apply the upgrade following vendor documentation
- 7. After upgrade, verify the database configuration has not been altered and the service starts correctly
- 8. Confirm the build number reflects the patched version (5235 or higher)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20136 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-20136 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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