CVE-2021-42000
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 · uneditedWhen a password reset or password change flow with an authentication policy is configured and the adapter in the reset or change policy supports multiple parallel reset flows, an existing user can reset another existing users password.
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 confidenceThis is an authentication bypass vulnerability in password reset/change flows where an authentication policy is configured with an adapter supporting multiple parallel reset flows. The flaw allows an authenticated user to reset another existing user's password, representing horizontal privilege escalation where regular users can perform admin-level password reset actions on other user accounts.
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<= 9.3.0>= 10.0.0, <= 10.0.11>= 10.1.0, <= 10.1.8>= 10.2.0, <= 10.2.6>= 10.3.0, <= 10.3.2= 9.3.3CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify PingFederate installation and versionLocate the PingFederate installation directory and check the version. In the run/bin folder, look for a version file or execute: ./pingfederate version (or check the release-info.xml file in the root directory). Compare your installed version against the affected ranges: <=9.3.0, 9.3.3, >=10.0.0<=10.0.11, >=10.1.0<=10.1.8, >=10.2.0<=10.2.6, >=10.3.0<=10.3.2Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges and you have password reset functionality configured
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Verify authentication policies with password reset flows existAccess the PingFederate administrative console and navigate to Authentication > Policies > Policies. Look for any authentication policies that include password reset or password change flows.Affected if Authentication policies exist that include password reset or change flows
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Check adapter configuration for multi-flow supportIn the administrative console, go to Authentication > Adapters and review the adapters used in password reset policies. Look for adapters that support multiple parallel reset flows (sometimes labeled as multi-flow support, concurrent flow support, or similar).Affected if An adapter in the password reset flow is configured to allow multiple parallel or concurrent reset flows
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Confirm password reset policy allows access to other user accountsReview the password reset policy configuration to determine if an authenticated user can specify or select a target user account different from their own during the reset process.Affected if The policy permits an authenticated user to reset passwords for other existing users, not just their own account
You are affected if your PingFederate version is in the affected list AND you have an authentication policy with a password reset flow using an adapter that supports multiple parallel reset flows, allowing horizontal privilege escalation.
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 · scopedConfigure the authentication policy to prevent parallel reset flows or disable multi-flow support in the affected adapter. Apply vendor patches if available and audit password reset policies to ensure users can only reset their own passwords.
Upgrade to PingFederate 10.0.12 (or later in that branch), 10.1.9+, 10.2.7+, or preferably the latest stable release such as 10.3.x
- 1. Identify the currently deployed PingFederate version from the affected list (9.3.0 and below, 10.0.0-10.0.11, 10.1.0-10.1.8, or 10.2.0-10.2.6)
- 2. Review the current password reset and password change authentication policies in the PingFederate administrative console
- 3. Plan the upgrade to a fixed version: for 10.0.x line upgrade to 10.0.12+, for 10.1.x line upgrade to 10.1.9+, for 10.2.x line upgrade to 10.2.7+, or upgrade to the latest stable release (10.3.x or newer)
- 4. Take a full backup of the PingFederate configuration and runtime data
- 5. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first
- 6. During a maintenance window, stop the PingFederate service
- 7. Run the installer for the target fixed version
- 8. Start PingFederate and verify the password reset/change flows work correctly
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-42000 — 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-2021-42000 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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