Insider Threat ManagementApplication · Proofpoint
CVE-2021-27899
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 · uneditedThe Proofpoint Insider Threat Management Agents (formerly ObserveIT Agent) for MacOS and Linux perform improper validation of the ITM Server's certificate, which enables a remote attacker to intercept and alter these communications using a man-in-the-middle attack. All versions before 7.11.1 are affected. Agents for Windows and Cloud are not affected.
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 confidenceThe Proofpoint Insider Threat Management (ITM) Agents for MacOS and Linux fail to properly validate the SSL/TLS certificate presented by the ITM Server during the TLS handshake. This allows a remote attacker positioned on the network to perform a man-in-the-middle attack, intercepting and modifying the encrypted communication between the agent and server.
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
Insider Threat ManagementApplication
>= 7.9.0, < 7.9.3>= 7.10.0, < 7.10.3>= 7.11.0, < 7.11.1CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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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Confirm the operating systemIdentify if the system is running MacOS or Linux. This vulnerability does not affect Windows agents.Affected if The system is running MacOS or Linux with an ITM agent installed.
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Locate the ITM agent installationFind the Proofpoint ITM agent installation on the system. Common locations may include /Applications on MacOS or /opt, /usr/local on Linux. Look for files or packages related to 'itm', 'insider', or 'proofpoint'.Affected if The ITM agent is installed on the system.
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Determine the installed agent versionRun a command or use a tool to query the installed version of the Proofpoint ITM agent. Common methods include: running 'itmagent --version', checking a package manager listing, or examining the agent's application metadata.Affected if A version can be retrieved from the agent installation.
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Compare version against affected rangesCompare the installed version to these vulnerable ranges: 7.9.0 through 7.9.2, 7.10.0 through 7.10.2, or 7.11.0. If the version falls within any of these ranges, the agent is vulnerable.Affected if The installed version is >= 7.9.0 and < 7.9.3, OR >= 7.10.0 and < 7.10.3, OR >= 7.11.0 and < 7.11.1.
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Verify deployment typeDetermine whether the agent is configured to connect to an on-premise ITM server or to a Proofpoint Cloud deployment. Check the agent configuration for server connection details. Cloud deployments are unaffected by this vulnerability.Affected if The agent connects to an on-premise ITM server rather than Proofpoint Cloud.
A system is affected if it runs a MacOS or Linux ITM agent with a version in the vulnerable ranges (7.9.0-7.9.2, 7.10.0-7.10.2, or 7.11.0) and connects to an on-premise ITM server.
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 data7.9.37.10.37.11.1
Upgrade all MacOS and Linux ITM agents to version 7.11.1 or later to implement proper certificate validation. Windows agents and Cloud deployments are unaffected.
Fix this in Insider Threat Management
Scoped from the published advisory
- 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-2021-27899 — 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-2021-27899 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
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