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Metasys Application And Data ServerApplication · Johnsoncontrols

CVE-2021-36204

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.1.6 / 11.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Under some circumstances an Insufficiently Protected Credentials vulnerability in Johnson Controls Metasys ADS/ADX/OAS 10 versions prior to 10.1.6 and 11 versions prior to 11.0.3 allows API calls to expose credentials in plain text.

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 confidence

The Metasys ADS/ADX/OAS building management systems versions prior to 10.1.6 and 11.0.3 contain an Insufficiently Protected Credentials vulnerability where API calls can expose user credentials in plaintext under certain conditions.

MitigationUpgrade Metasys ADS/ADX/OAS to version 10.1.6 or 11.0.3 or later to remediate the credential exposure vulnerability.

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
Metasys Application And Data ServerApplication
Affected:>= 10.0, < 10.1.6>= 11.0, < 11.0.3
Metasys Extended Application And Data ServerApplication
Affected:>= 10.0, < 10.1.6>= 11.0, < 11.0.3
Metasys Open Application ServerApplication
Affected:>= 10.0, < 10.1.6>= 11.0, < 11.0.3

CVSS 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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Metasys component
    Locate the Metasys installation directory or check system services for 'Metasys ADS', 'Metasys ADX', or 'Metasys OAS' to determine which component is running.
    Affected if The system is running any of these three Metasys components (ADS, ADX, or OAS).
  2. Determine the installed version
    Access the Metasys system information through the Metasys UI (Help > About) or check the installation logs and version files in the Metasys installation directory for the exact version number.
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or is earlier than 10.1.6 for version 10.x releases, or earlier than 11.0.3 for version 11.x releases.
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Review the identified version: for 10.x branches, the affected range is >= 10.0 and < 10.1.6; for 11.x branches, the affected range is >= 11.0 and < 11.0.3.
    Affected if The installed version falls within either 10.0 to 10.1.5 (inclusive) or 11.0 to 11.0.2 (inclusive).
  4. Check if API exposure is possible
    Review Metasys configuration settings and audit logs for any API calls or integration endpoints that may have transmitted or stored user credentials in transit or in logs.
    Affected if The system uses API integrations and credentials may have been transmitted or logged in plaintext.

You are affected if your Metasys ADS, ADX, or OAS version is 10.0 to 10.1.5 or 11.0 to 11.0.2 and the system uses API integrations where credentials could have been exposed.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.1.6 / 11.0.3 or later
Fixed in 10.1.611.0.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Metasys ADS/ADX/OAS to version 10.1.6 or 11.0.3 or later to remediate the credential exposure vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

10.1.6 (for 10.x branches) or 11.0.3 (for 11.x branches)

  1. Identify the current installed version of Metasys ADS, ADX, or OAS
  2. Determine target upgrade version based on your current branch: upgrade to 10.1.6 if on version 10.x, or upgrade to 11.0.3 if on version 11.x
  3. Review Johnson Controls Metasys upgrade documentation and release notes for upgrade procedures
  4. Create a complete backup of the current system configuration and database
  5. Schedule maintenance window as upgrades require system downtime
  6. Perform the upgrade to the target fixed version following official Johnson Controls upgrade procedures
  7. After upgrade, verify credentials are no longer exposed in plain text through API calls
  8. Confirm the system is functioning correctly and all services are operational

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Metasys Application And Data Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-36204 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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