CVE-2021-32101
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 Patient Portal of OpenEMR 5.0.2.1 is affected by a incorrect access control system in portal/patient/_machine_config.php. To exploit the vulnerability, an unauthenticated attacker can register an account, bypassing the permission check of this portal's API. Then, the attacker can then manipulate and read data of every registered patient.
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 Patient Portal in OpenEMR 5.0.2.1 has incorrect access control in portal/patient/_machine_config.php. An unauthenticated attacker can register an account and bypass the portal API's permission checks, allowing unauthorized access to read and manipulate data for all registered patients.
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= 5.0.2.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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.
-
Identify OpenEMR installation versionCheck the version file or admin interface for OpenEMR version number. Common locations: interface/billing/billing_report.php version display, or the file /VERSION.txt in the OpenEMR root directory.Affected if The installed version is exactly 5.0.2.1 (note: only this specific version is affected per the CVE)
-
Confirm Patient Portal is enabledCheck if the Patient Portal feature is active in the OpenEMR administration settings. Look for portal-related modules in Administration > Globals > Portal tab, or check if the /portal directory is accessible on the web server.Affected if The Patient Portal module is enabled and accessible via web interface
-
Verify portal user registration is availableCheck if the portal allows new user registration without admin approval. Look at portal/patient/register.php and verify whether the registration endpoint accepts unauthenticated requests.Affected if Unauthenticated users can register new accounts through the Patient Portal
-
Examine the vulnerable file access controlInspect the file portal/patient/_machine_config.php for missing permission checks. Look for missing session validation, role checks, or authorization logic before patient data access operations.Affected if The _machine_config.php file lacks proper authorization checks before granting access to patient data
-
Check API endpoint access controlsTest portal API endpoints with a newly registered standard user account to verify if permission boundaries are enforced. Attempt to access data belonging to other patients.Affected if A registered portal user can access or modify data for patients other than their own
A user is affected if running OpenEMR version 5.0.2.1 with the Patient Portal enabled, where the portal/patient/_machine_config.php file lacks proper access control and allows any registered user to access data across all patients.
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 dataFix the access control logic in portal/patient/_machine_config.php to properly validate user permissions before granting access to patient data, and implement additional authorization checks in the portal API.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-32101 — 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-2021-32101 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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