KeycloakApplication · Redhat
CVE-2021-20262
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 12.0.0 where re-authentication does not occur while updating the password. This flaw allows an attacker to take over an account if they can obtain temporary, physical access to a user’s browser. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, 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 flaw in Keycloak 12.0.0 allows password changes without requiring re-authentication, enabling an attacker with temporary physical access to a user's browser to change the password and take over the account.
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
= 12.0.0
Single Sign OnApplication
= 7.0CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed Keycloak or RH SSO versionCheck the product version through the admin console (Server Info > System Info > Version) or by inspecting the version file in the installation directoryAffected if The installed version is exactly 12.0.0 for Keycloak or 7.0 for Red Hat Single Sign On
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Locate the password policy settingsIn the Keycloak/RH SSO admin console, navigate to the Realm Settings > Password Policy tabAffected if The password policy does not require entry of the current password before allowing a new password to be set
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Verify the credential reset flow configurationNavigate to Authentication > Flows in the admin console and examine the 'Reset Credentials' or 'Update Password' flow to check if a password credential is required as a prerequisite stepAffected if The password update/reset flow lacks a step that validates the user's current password before allowing a change
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Test the password change endpoint directlyUsing the account console or API endpoint for password change, attempt to change the password without providing the current password in the request payloadAffected if The password change succeeds without requiring the current password to be verified first
You are affected if you are running Keycloak 12.0.0 or RH SSO 7.0 AND your password change flow does not require re-authentication with the current password before allowing a new password to be set.
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 dataImplement re-authentication (e.g., require current password) before allowing password changes, and ensure users lock their browser sessions when stepping away.
Fix this in Keycloak
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20262 — 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-2021-20262 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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