CVE-2021-20532
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 Spectrum Protect Client 8.1.0.0 through 8.1.11.0 could allow a local user to escalate their privileges to take full control of the system due to insecure directory permissions. IBM X-Force ID: 198811.
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 · high confidenceIBM Spectrum Protect Client versions 8.1.0.0 through 8.1.11.0 contains insecure directory permissions that allow a local unprivileged user to manipulate files or directories to gain elevated (SYSTEM/root) privileges and take full control of the affected system.
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>= 8.1.0.0, <= 8.1.11.0>= 8.1.0.0, <= 8.1.11.0CVSS 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
- 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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Identify if IBM Spectrum Protect Client is installedOn Windows, check for the installation in typical paths such as C:\Program Files\Tivoli\TSM\ or look for the dsmc.exe binary. On Linux/Unix, check /opt/tivoli/tsm/ or look for the dsmc binary using 'which dsmc' or 'find /opt -name dsmc 2>/dev/null'.Affected if IBM Spectrum Protect Client is found on the system
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Check the installed version numberRun 'dsmc -v' or 'dsmc query version' from the client binary location. On Windows, you can also check the version property of the dsmc.exe file. On Windows additionally check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\IBM\TSM\CurrentVersion or examine the install log files.Affected if The version is 8.1.0.0 through 8.1.11.0 (inclusive)
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Examine directory permissions on the installation folderOn Windows, open a command prompt as a standard user and run 'icacls "C:\Program Files\Tivoli\TSM"' or your actual installation path. On Linux/Unix, run 'ls -la /opt/tivoli/tsm/' or your installation directory. Look for entries showing that Users or other non-privileged accounts have (F) Full Control or (M) Modify permissions.Affected if Non-privileged users have Modify, Write, or Full Control permissions on the installation directory containing executable files or libraries
The system is affected if IBM Spectrum Protect Client version 8.1.0.0 through 8.1.11.0 is installed AND the installation directory grants non-privileged users permissions to modify executable files or libraries.
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 vendor patches (upgrade to version 8.1.12.0 or later) and review directory permissions on the installation directory to ensure non-privileged users cannot modify executable files or libraries.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20532 — 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-2021-20532 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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- 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
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