CVE-2021-4326
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 vulnerability in Imperative framework which allows already-privileged local actors to execute arbitrary shell commands via plugin install/update commands, or maliciously formed environment variables. Impacts Zowe CLI.
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 confidenceA command injection vulnerability in the Imperative framework (used by Zowe CLI) allows already-privileged local users to execute arbitrary shell commands through plugin install/update operations or by exploiting maliciously crafted environment variables.
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>= 1.16.0, < 1.28.2>= 2.0.0, < 2.5.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 Zowe versionRun 'zowe --version' or check the Zowe CLI package.json version fieldAffected if Version is >= 1.16.0 and < 1.28.2, or >= 2.0.0 and < 2.5.0
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Check if plugin management is availableRun 'zowe plugins list' to see if plugin commands are accessible to the userAffected if Plugin commands are available and the user has permission to use them
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Inspect environment variables for Imperative framework settingsRun 'env | grep -i imperative' to list Imperative-related environment variablesAffected if Variables like IMPERATIVE_* or ZOWE_* are present and contain unsanitized user input
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Verify plugin install/update capability exposureCheck if the Zowe CLI plugin install/update commands are enabled and accessible to local usersAffected if Users can invoke 'zowe plugins install' or 'zowe plugins update' without additional authorization controls
A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable Zowe version (1.16.0-1.28.1 or 2.0.0-2.4.0) AND has plugin management commands available to privileged local users or has unsanitized Imperative environment variables set.
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 · scoped1.28.22.5.0
Update to patched versions of Imperative framework and Zowe CLI that properly sanitize plugin command inputs and environment variable handling to prevent arbitrary command execution.
Zowe 1.28.2+ (for 1.x users) or Zowe 2.5.0+ (for 2.x users)
- Check current Zowe version using 'zowe --version' or equivalent command
- Determine which major version line you are on (1.x or 2.x)
- For Zowe 1.x users: Upgrade to version 1.28.2 or later
- For Zowe 2.x users: Upgrade to version 2.5.0 or later
- Review Zowe release notes for the target version for any specific migration requirements
- Backup any critical configuration files before upgrading
- Perform the upgrade following Zowe's official installation documentation
- After upgrade, verify the version is now outside the affected range
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
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-4326 — 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-2021-4326 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
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