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Cloud Pak For ApplicationsApplication · Ibm

CVE-2021-20364

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-07-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 · unedited
IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 195035.

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 confidence

IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 contains a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in its Web UI. Attackers can embed arbitrary JavaScript code that executes in the context of other users' sessions, potentially allowing credential disclosure or session hijacking within trusted sessions.

MitigationApply the IBM patch for CVE-2021-20364. Until patched, implement output encoding and input validation for all user-supplied data rendered in the web interface.

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
Cloud Pak For ApplicationsApplication
Affected:= 4.3

CVSS 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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify the installed product version
    Check the IBM Cloud Pak for Applications version using the IBM Cloud Pak CLI (cloudctl) or by inspecting the operator deployment. Run: cloudctl cm app | grep -i version or check the operator CRD version.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 4.3 (any patch level of 4.3 is affected)
  2. Confirm the Web UI component is deployed
    Check if the Web UI pod/container is running. Use kubectl get pods -n <namespace> | grep -i webui or check for pods with 'application' or 'ui' in the name.
    Affected if The Web UI component is present and running in the environment
  3. Check if Web UI is externally accessible
    Review the Kubernetes service configuration for the Web UI. Run: kubectl get svc -n <namespace> and inspect the service type (LoadBalancer, NodePort, or Ingress). Check Ingress/Route configurations.
    Affected if The Web UI is exposed via LoadBalancer, NodePort, or Ingress without proper network restrictions
  4. Assess input validation controls
    Inspect any custom configuration or deployment overlays that may have added input validation or output encoding for the Web UI. Review any web.xml or security configuration files in the application deployment.
    Affected if No custom input validation or output encoding has been implemented for user-supplied data in the web interface
  5. Check authentication enforcement on Web UI
    Verify that the Web UI requires authentication. Check the OAuth or authentication configuration: kubectl get oauth -n <namespace> or review the Route/Ingress annotations for auth requirements.
    Affected if The Web UI is accessible without proper authentication enforcement or uses weak session controls

The environment is affected if IBM Cloud Pak for Applications version 4.3 is installed with the Web UI component deployed and accessible, as the XSS vulnerability exists in the web interface by default in this version.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the IBM patch for CVE-2021-20364. Until patched, implement output encoding and input validation for all user-supplied data rendered in the web interface.

Fix this in Cloud Pak For Applications Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-20364 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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