CVE-2021-36795
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 · uneditedA permission issue in the Cohesity Linux agent may allow privilege escalation in version 6.5.1b to 6.5.1d-hotfix10, 6.6.0a to 6.6.0b-hotfix1. An underprivileged linux user, if certain environment criteria are met, can gain additional privileges.
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 confidenceThe Cohesity Linux agent versions 6.5.1b through 6.5.1d-hotfix10 and 6.6.0a through 6.6.0b-hotfix1 contain a permission flaw that permits an underprivileged local Linux user to escalate privileges to higher-level system access when specific environmental conditions are met.
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>= 6.5.1b, <= 6.5.1d>= 6.6.0a, <= 6.6.0b= 6.5.1d= 6.6.0bCVSS 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.
-
Verify Cohesity Linux agent installationLocate the Cohesity agent binary or service on the system, typically found in directories such as /opt/cohesity or via system commands like 'which cohesity_agent' or 'ps aux | grep cohesity'Affected if Cohesity Linux agent is not found on the system (not affected)
-
Determine installed agent versionRun the agent version command (commonly 'cohesity_agent --version' or check version files in the agent installation directory) to obtain the exact numeric versionAffected if Unable to determine version (further investigation needed)
-
Compare version against affected range 6.5.1b - 6.5.1dCheck if the installed version falls within or equals any version from 6.5.1b through 6.5.1d, including hotfix variants within this rangeAffected if Version is >= 6.5.1b AND <= 6.5.1d
-
Compare version against affected range 6.6.0a - 6.6.0bCheck if the installed version falls within or equals any version from 6.6.0a through 6.6.0b, including hotfix variants within this rangeAffected if Version is >= 6.6.0a AND <= 6.6.0b
System is affected if Cohesity Linux agent is installed and its version matches either the 6.5.1b through 6.5.1d range or the 6.6.0a through 6.6.0b range, as the privilege escalation flaw exists in these specific version windows.
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 dataUpgrade the Cohesity Linux agent to a version beyond the affected ranges (post 6.5.1d-hotfix10 and post 6.6.0b-hotfix1). In the interim, restrict local user access to systems running the agent and audit for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-36795 — 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-2021-36795 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