CVE-2021-20260
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 the Foreman project. The Datacenter plugin exposes the password through the API to an authenticated local attacker with view_hosts permission. 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 confidenceThe Foreman Datacenter plugin has an information disclosure vulnerability where passwords are exposed through the API endpoint to any authenticated user with view_hosts permission. This allows a local authenticated attacker to retrieve sensitive credential data that should be restricted, compromising data confidentiality and potentially enabling further attacks against system integrity.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Foreman Datacenter plugin is installedCheck the installed Foreman plugins list or package manager for the Foreman Datacenter plugin (often named foreman_datacenter or similar)Affected if The plugin is present in the Foreman installation
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Identify API endpoint access methodLocate the Foreman API endpoint that returns host information, typically at /api/v2/hosts or similar paths under /api/Affected if The API endpoint is accessible and responds to authenticated requests
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Confirm view_hosts permission existsReview role permissions in Foreman to verify that the view_hosts permission exists and can be assigned to user rolesAffected if The view_hosts permission is defined and assignable to users
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Test password exposure in API responseMake an authenticated API request using a user account with only view_hosts permission and examine whether the response includes sensitive password or credential fields in host detailsAffected if API responses include plaintext passwords or sensitive credential data to users who only have view_hosts permission
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Review API access logsInspect Foreman API access logs for any requests to host endpoints that returned credential dataAffected if Logs show password or credential data was returned via API to users without elevated privileges
A user is affected if the Foreman Datacenter plugin is installed and the API returns sensitive credential or password data to authenticated users who only possess view_hosts permission.
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 dataUpgrade or patch the Foreman Datacenter plugin to the version that removes password exposure from API responses. Alternatively, restrict the view_hosts permission to only those users who require it and audit API access logs for unauthorized password retrieval attempts.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20260 — 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-2021-20260 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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