CVE-2021-20360
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 · uneditedIBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information. IBM X-Force ID: 195031.
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 confidenceIBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 implements cryptographic algorithms that are weaker than expected, potentially allowing attackers to decrypt sensitive data due to insufficient encryption strength.
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= 4.3CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 if IBM Cloud Pak for Applications is installedRun 'ibmcloud pr' or check for IBM Cloud Pak for Applications namespaces/pods in your Kubernetes or OpenShift cluster using 'kubectl get namespaces' or 'oc get projects' and look for application-related namespacesAffected if The product is not installed in your environment - you are not affected
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Determine the installed versionUse the IBM Cloud Pak CLI or check the operator/CSVs: 'ibmcloud cp app get' or 'kubectl get csv -n <namespace>' to find the exact version number of IBM Cloud Pak for ApplicationsAffected if Version is exactly 4.3 - proceed to next check; if version differs (higher or lower), you are not affected by this specific CVE
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Check cryptographic algorithm configurationExamine the cryptographic settings in the IBM Cloud Pak for Applications configuration files or Kubernetes/OpenShift secrets. Look for encryption configuration, key lengths, and algorithm specifications in the application configurationAffected if Weak algorithms (such as MD5, SHA1, DES, 3DES, RC4, or keys shorter than 128-bit) are in use - you are affected; only FIPS 140-2 compliant algorithms (AES-256, SHA-256 or stronger) indicate you are not affected
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Verify FIPS 140-2 compliance statusCheck the IBM Cloud Pak for Applications security settings and FIPS mode configuration. Look for FIPS enablement flags in the deployment configuration or security contextAffected if FIPS 140-2 compliance is disabled or not configured - you are affected; FIPS 140-2 is enabled and enforced, you are likely not affected
You are affected only if IBM Cloud Pak for Applications version 4.3 is installed AND weak cryptographic algorithms are configured or FIPS 140-2 compliance is disabled.
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 dataApply IBM patches or upgrade to a version that implements strong cryptographic algorithms; verify that only FIPS 140-2 compliant algorithms are enabled.
- 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-2021-20360 — 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-2021-20360 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data