CVE-2021-20507
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 Jazz Foundation and IBM Engineering products are 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: 198235.
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 stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Jazz Foundation and IBM Engineering products allows authenticated users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code into the web interface. When other users view the affected content, the malicious script executes within their trusted session, potentially enabling session hijacking and credentials disclosure.
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= 7.0= 7.0.1= 7.0.2all versions= 7.0.0= 7.0.1= 7.0.2= 6.0.6= 6.0.6.1= 7.0= 7.0.1= 7.0.2= 7.0= 7.0.1= 7.0.2= 6.0.6= 6.0.6.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed IBM Jazz-based productCheck the product name in the application header or about section. Common locations: Help > About, or access the /admin or /jts/about web endpoint.Affected if The product matches one of the affected products listed in the CVE (Engineering Lifecycle Optimization, Engineering Requirements Quality Assistant, Engineering Workflow Management, Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management, Rational Doors Next Generation, Rational Engineering Lifecycle Manager, or
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Determine the installed product versionNavigate to the product's About page (typically Help > About in the web UI) or access the public REST endpoint /jts/about. The version is displayed in the Version field.Affected if The version matches 7.0, 7.0.1, or 7.0.2 for Engineering products; any version for Engineering Requirements Quality Assistant On Premises; or 6.0.6/6.0.6.1 for Rational products (CLM, Team Concert)
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Confirm authentication is enabled and users can create contentVerify that the application has authentication enabled and that users have permissions to create or edit items that are visible to other users (such as requirements, comments, artifacts, or work items).Affected if Authentication is active and user-generated content features are accessible to at least one user account
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Review web application logs for XSS indicatorsExamine IBM Jazz/JTS logs (typically in the log directory under the install path) for unusual script tags or JavaScript payloads in user input fields. Check both application logs and HTTP access logs.Affected if Logs contain unexpected script tags, javascript: URLs, or event handler attributes in user-submitted content fields
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Inspect user input acceptance in high-risk areasTest or review areas where users can input and save content that is later displayed to other users: requirement attributes, artifact descriptions, comment fields, work item summaries, or any rich text editor fields.Affected if The application accepts and stores HTML or script content without sanitization in fields visible to other authenticated users
A user is affected if they have an installed IBM Jazz-based product matching one of the listed products AND running an affected version, with authenticated users able to create content that is viewed by other users.
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's available patches for this vulnerability. Additionally, implement robust input validation, output encoding, and Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to mitigate XSS risks until patches are fully deployed.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20507 — 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-2021-20507 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