dbcve.org
Clearpass Policy ManagerApplication · Arubanetworks

CVE-2021-40993

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.8.9 / 6.9.7 or later.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
A remote SQL injection vulnerability was discovered in Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager version(s): ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.x prior to 6.10.2 - - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.x prior to 6.9.7-HF1 - - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.8.x prior to 6.8.9-HF1. Aruba has released patches for ClearPass Policy Manager that address this security vulnerability.

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 confidence

A remote SQL injection vulnerability exists in Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager versions 6.10.x prior to 6.10.2, 6.9.x prior to 6.9.7-HF1, and 6.8.x prior to 6.8.9-HF1. This allows remote attackers to inject malicious SQL queries via unspecified vectors in the web interface, potentially enabling unauthorized database access, data exfiltration, or modification.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches: upgrade to ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.2, 6.9.7-HF1, or 6.8.9-HF1 or later versions. Prior to patching, consider restricting network access to the ClearPass administrative interfaces and implement WAF rules as a compensating control.

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
Clearpass Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 6.8.0, < 6.8.9>= 6.9.0, < 6.9.7>= 6.10.0, < 6.10.2= 6.8.9= 6.9.7

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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. Determine ClearPass Policy Manager version
    Log into the ClearPass CLI as admin and run 'show version' or access the web UI and check About page under Help menu
    Affected if Version falls within 6.8.0-6.8.9, 6.9.0-6.9.7, or 6.10.0-6.10.1 (or is 6.8.9/6.9.7 without HF1 suffix)
  2. Confirm patch installation status
    In CLI, run 'show version' and check if version shows '-HF1' suffix for 6.8.x/6.9.x or exact '6.10.2' for 6.10.x branch
    Affected if Version does not show '-HF1' suffix (for 6.8.x/6.9.x) or is not exactly 6.10.2 (for 6.10.x)
  3. Verify web interface exposure
    From an external host, attempt to reach the ClearPass admin web interface (default ports 443 or 8080) or check network firewall rules for允许 access to these ports from untrusted networks
    Affected if Web interface is reachable from networks beyond trusted administrative segments

If ClearPass Policy Manager version is 6.8.x before HF1, 6.9.x before HF1, or 6.10.x before 6.10.2 AND the web interface is network-accessible, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2021-40993.

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 6.8.9 / 6.9.7 / 6.10.2 or later
Fixed in 6.8.96.9.76.10.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches: upgrade to ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.2, 6.9.7-HF1, or 6.8.9-HF1 or later versions. Prior to patching, consider restricting network access to the ClearPass administrative interfaces and implement WAF rules as a compensating control.

Recommended fix High confidence

ClearPass Policy Manager 6.8.9-HF1 (for 6.8.x branch), 6.9.7-HF1 (for 6.9.x branch), or 6.10.2 (for 6.10.x branch)

  1. Identify the currently installed ClearPass Policy Manager version via the Web UI (Dashboard > About) or CLI (show version)
  2. Determine which version branch you are on (6.8.x, 6.9.x, or 6.10.x)
  3. For 6.8.x users: Upgrade to ClearPass Policy Manager 6.8.9-HF1 or later
  4. For 6.9.x users: Upgrade to ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.7-HF1 or later
  5. For 6.10.x users: Upgrade to ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.2 or later
  6. After upgrade, verify the version is correctly installed and the ClearPass services are running
  7. Review access logs for any signs of exploitation attempts prior to patching
Caveat Review Aruba upgrade documentation for any migration considerations; ensure backup before upgrading; some upgrades may require license revalidation

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

Fix this in Clearpass Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
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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-2021-40993 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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