CVE-2021-39090
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 Cloud Pak for Security (CP4S) 1.10.0.0 through 1.10.6.0 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by the failure to properly enable HTTP Strict Transport Security. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information using man in the middle techniques. IBM X-Force ID: 216388.
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 confidenceIBM Cloud Pak for Security versions 1.10.0.0 through 1.10.6.0 fails to properly enable HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), a web security policy mechanism that forces browsers to communicate exclusively over HTTPS. Without HSTS enabled, an attacker performing a man-in-the-middle attack can intercept unencrypted or improperly redirected traffic to obtain sensitive information.
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>= 1.10.0.0, < 1.10.7.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed IBM Cloud Pak for Security versionLocate and retrieve the version number of the installed IBM Cloud Pak for Security instance using the platform's version command or admin consoleAffected if Version is 1.10.0.0 through 1.10.6.0 (versions below 1.10.7.0)
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Verify version is within affected rangeCompare your installed version against the affected range: 1.10.0.0 <= version < 1.10.7.0Affected if Installed version falls within 1.10.0.0 through 1.10.6.0
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Inspect HTTP response headers for HSTSMake an HTTPS request to the IBM Cloud Pak for Security web interface and examine the response headers for the presence of Strict-Transport-SecurityAffected if Strict-Transport-Security header is missing or not present in HTTPS responses
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Check HSTS configuration on web server or load balancerReview the configuration of the web server or load balancer fronting IBM Cloud Pak for Security to determine if HSTS headers are enabled and properly configuredAffected if HSTS is not enabled or configured in the web server/load balancer
If the installed version is 1.10.0.0 through 1.10.6.0 AND HSTS headers are not present in HTTPS responses, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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.
dbcve · scoped1.10.7.0
Enable and configure HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) headers on the IBM Cloud Pak for Security web server or load balancer, ensuring all HTTP responses include the Strict-Transport-Security header with appropriate max-age settings.
1.10.7.0
- Upgrade IBM Cloud Pak for Security from any affected version (1.10.0.0 - 1.10.6.0) to version 1.10.7.0 or later
- Follow IBM's standard upgrade documentation for Cloud Pak for Security
- After upgrade, verify that HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is enabled by checking the application configuration
- Test the environment to confirm the fix is applied and HSTS headers are being sent
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-39090 — 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-2021-39090 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data