CVE-2021-29859
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 ICP4A - User Management System Component (IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation V21.0.3 through V21.0.3-IF008, V21.0.2 through V21.0.2-IF009, and V21.0.1 through V21.0.1-IF007) could allow a user with physical access to the system to perform unauthorized actions or obtain sensitive information due to insufficient validation and recvocation another user logouting out. IBM X-Force ID: 206081.
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 User Management System component in IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation versions 21.0.1 through 21.0.3 contains a session validation vulnerability where user sessions are not properly invalidated upon logout. A user with physical access to the system can perform unauthorized actions or obtain sensitive information because session tokens remain valid after another user logs out, due to insufficient session revocation logic.
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= 21.0.1= 21.0.2= 21.0.3CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/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 installed IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation versionUse the IBM Cloud Pak console or run 'ibmcloud cpba version' command to retrieve the exact version number of the installed IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation componentAffected if The installed version is 21.0.1, 21.0.2, or 21.0.3
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Confirm User Management System component is in useCheck if the User Management System component is enabled and accessible in the IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation environment. This is typically found in the administration or security settings of the platformAffected if The User Management System component is active and used for user authentication
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Test session invalidation after logoutLog in with a test user account, perform logout, then attempt to use the original session token (cookie or bearer token) to access protected resources or APIs. Compare behavior to expected revoked accessAffected if The session token remains valid and allows access after logout has been performed
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Verify no IBM interim fixes are appliedCheck the installed fixes or patches. For version 21.0.1 look for IF007, for 21.0.2 look for IF009, for 21.0.3 look for IF008. Query the fix inventory via IBM support tools or platform management consoleAffected if None of the IBM interim fixes (IF007, IF009, IF008) corresponding to the version are installed
A user is affected if they are running IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation version 21.0.1, 21.0.2, or 21.0.3 without the corresponding interim fix and the session token remains usable after logout.
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 the IBM interim fixes: IF007 for V21.0.1, IF009 for V21.0.2, and IF008 for V21.0.3. After patching, verify that session tokens are properly invalidated upon logout through functional testing.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-29859 — 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-2021-29859 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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