CVE-2021-37546
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 · uneditedIn JetBrains TeamCity before 2021.1, an insecure key generation mechanism for encrypted properties was used.
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 confidenceTeamCity before version 2021.1 used a weak cryptographic key generation mechanism for encrypted properties, potentially allowing attackers to compromise sensitive configuration data such as passwords or API keys stored as encrypted properties.
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< 2021.1CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify TeamCity versionCheck the TeamCity server version by accessing the About page in the TeamCity UI (Administration > Diagnostics > About) or by inspecting the TeamCity server logs or the version.txt file in the TeamCity installation directoryAffected if The installed version is any release earlier than 2021.1
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Determine if encrypted properties are in useReview TeamCity project and build configurations for the use of encrypted parameters or the <encrypted> XML tag in configuration files (such as build-configs.xml or project-config.xml in the TeamCity data directory)Affected if Encrypted parameters, password fields, or API tokens are stored using TeamCity's encryption feature
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Locate encrypted configuration filesSearch the TeamCity data directory for files containing encrypted values - look for XML elements with the <encrypted> tag or properties containing encrypted: prefixAffected if Files containing <encrypted> tags or encrypted: prefixed values exist in the configuration
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Inspect the encryption key storageCheck the TeamCity main-config.xml file in the TeamCity data directory for the <encryption> section and examine how encryption keys are stored and managedAffected if An encryption section exists and references a keystore file from older TeamCity versions (pre-2021.1)
You are affected if your TeamCity installation version is earlier than 2021.1 and you store sensitive data such as passwords or API keys as encrypted properties in TeamCity configuration files.
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 data2021.1
Upgrade TeamCity to version 2021.1 or later to address the insecure key generation mechanism. After upgrading, verify that all encrypted properties function correctly.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37546 — 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-2021-37546 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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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