KeycloakApplication · Redhat
CVE-2021-20222
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 · uneditedA flaw was found in keycloak. The new account console in keycloak can allow malicious code to be executed using the referrer URL. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.
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 · moderate confidenceA cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in Keycloak's new account console where the referrer URL is not properly sanitized before being used, allowing an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript or code that executes in the context of the victim's session.
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
KeycloakApplication
>= 9.0.0, < 13.0.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Keycloak versionCheck the server JAR filename (keycloak-server-*.jar), review startup logs for version output, or inspect the MANIFEST.MF file inside the keycloak-server.jar under META-INF/Affected if The installed version is 9.0.0 or higher but lower than 13.0.0
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Confirm new account console is in useAccess the account console by navigating to the Keycloak server URL with path /realms/{realm}/account/ - the new account console serves this endpoint. The legacy console uses a different path structure.Affected if The new account console (account console v2/v3) is accessible at /realms/{realm}/account/ and is in use by users
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Review HTTP referrer handlingInspect browser developer tools or proxy logs for requests to the account console - note the Referrer header value being sent. The vulnerability exists when user-supplied referrer values are reflected in the page without sanitization.Affected if The account console reflects the Referrer header value in the page output without proper encoding/sanitization
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Check for signs of XSS exploitationSearch Keycloak server logs for unusual JavaScript patterns, script tags, or malformed referrer values in access logs. Review any security events or alerts related to XSS attempts.Affected if Malicious JavaScript code appears in referrer-related logs or if unexpected script execution is observed in account console sessions
You are affected if Keycloak version is 9.0.0 or higher but lower than 13.0.0 AND the new account console (/realms/{realm}/account/) is accessible and processing user sessions with unsanitized referrer headers.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor data13.0.0
Upgrade Keycloak to the version that addresses this vulnerability or implement proper sanitization of the Referrer header in the account console to prevent injection of malicious scripts.
Fix this in Keycloak
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20222 — 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-2021-20222 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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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.
- 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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