dbcve.org
TeamcityApplication · Jetbrains

CVE-2021-43201

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2021.1.3 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
In JetBrains TeamCity before 2021.1.3, a newly created project could take settings from an already deleted project.

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 confidence

In JetBrains TeamCity before 2021.1.3, when creating a new project, the system could incorrectly inherit settings or configuration from a previously deleted project. This occurs because project references or cached settings from the deleted project are not properly cleared, allowing a newly created project to inadvertently take on configuration from a non-existent project.

MitigationUpgrade to TeamCity 2021.1.3 or later. As a workaround, ensure all projects are properly managed and verify that newly created projects have the intended configuration, as they may have inherited unexpected settings from deleted projects.

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
TeamcityApplication
Affected:< 2021.1.3

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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. Check installed TeamCity version
    Navigate to Administration > Server Configuration > General Settings, or use the About link at the bottom of the TeamCity web interface to view the exact version number.
    Affected if The version shown is earlier than 2021.1.3 (for example, 2021.1.2, 2021.1.1, 2021.1, 2020.x, etc.)
  2. Identify recently created projects
    Go to Administration > Projects and review the list of projects, noting their creation dates. Look for projects created after other projects were deleted.
    Affected if New projects were created after deletions occurred in versions prior to 2021.1.3
  3. Review project settings for unexpected inheritance
    Select each recently created project and inspect its settings pages (Build Configurations, VCS Roots, Parameters, Notifications, and other configuration sections). Compare these against what you would expect based on clean project creation.
    Affected if Project settings contain VCS roots, parameters, build features, or other configurations that were not intentionally set and appear to belong to a previously deleted project
  4. Check for orphaned project references
    Examine the <TeamCity Data Directory>/system directory for cached project data. Look for lingering configuration files or cache entries referencing deleted project IDs that no longer exist in the projects list.
    Affected if Cached settings or project configuration files referencing deleted projects remain in the system directory after those projects were removed

You are affected if your TeamCity version is earlier than 2021.1.3 and you have created new projects after previously deleting other projects in that vulnerable version.

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 2021.1.3 or later
Fixed in 2021.1.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to TeamCity 2021.1.3 or later. As a workaround, ensure all projects are properly managed and verify that newly created projects have the intended configuration, as they may have inherited unexpected settings from deleted projects.

Recommended fix High confidence

2021.1.3 or later

  1. Back up your TeamCity server data and configuration before upgrading
  2. Download TeamCity version 2021.1.3 or later from the official JetBrains website
  3. Stop the TeamCity server
  4. Install the new version following the TeamCity upgrade documentation
  5. Start the TeamCity server and verify it runs correctly
  6. Create a new project and verify it does not inherit settings from any deleted projects

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

Fix this in Teamcity Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-43201 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-43201 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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