CVE-2021-40999
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 remote arbitrary command execution 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 confidenceRemote arbitrary command execution vulnerability in Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the affected system via unspecified vectors in the identified versions.
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>= 6.8.0, < 6.8.9>= 6.9.0, < 6.9.7>= 6.10.0, < 6.10.2CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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.
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Determine installed ClearPass Policy Manager versionLog into the ClearPass Policy Manager web administrative interface and navigate to Administration > About, or run 'show version' via the CLIAffected if The displayed version falls within 6.8.0 through 6.8.8, 6.9.0 through 6.9.6, or 6.10.0 through 6.10.1 (i.e., it is lower than 6.8.9, 6.9.7-HF1, or 6.10.2 respectively)
You are affected if your installed ClearPass Policy Manager version is one of the affected releases listed above and the management interface is accessible to authenticated users.
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 · scoped6.8.96.9.76.10.2
Apply the vendor-released patches: upgrade to ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.2, 6.9.7-HF1, or 6.8.9-HF1 (or later) as appropriate for your current version.
Upgrade to 6.8.9-HF1 (for 6.8.x), 6.9.7-HF1 (for 6.9.x), or 6.10.2 (for 6.10.x)
- 1. Identify the currently installed ClearPass Policy Manager version from the Administration > Server Manager > Server Information page.
- 2. Determine which version branch your current installation falls into: 6.8.x, 6.9.x, or 6.10.x.
- 3. For version 6.8.x: Upgrade to ClearPass Policy Manager version 6.8.9-HF1.
- 4. For version 6.9.x: Upgrade to ClearPass Policy Manager version 6.9.7-HF1.
- 5. For version 6.10.x: Upgrade to ClearPass Policy Manager version 6.10.2.
- 6. Download the appropriate upgrade package from the Aruba support portal at https://asp.arubanetworks.com/.
- 7. Apply the upgrade through the ClearPass web interface via Maintenance > Server Manager > Software Update, or follow the CLI upgrade procedure documented in the Aruba ClearPass Upgrade Guide.
- 8. After upgrade, verify the ClearPass Policy Manager services are running correctly and confirm the new version is installed.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40999 — 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-2021-40999 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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