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HtcondorApplication · Wisc

CVE-2021-45102

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
An issue was discovered in HTCondor 9.0.x before 9.0.4 and 9.1.x before 9.1.2. When authenticating to an HTCondor daemon using a SciToken, a user may be granted authorizations beyond what the token should allow.

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

HTCondor versions 9.0.x before 9.0.4 and 9.1.x before 9.1.2 have an authorization bypass vulnerability in SciToken authentication. When users authenticate using SciTokens, the daemon incorrectly grants authorizations beyond what the token actually permits, allowing privilege escalation.

MitigationUpgrade HTCondor to version 9.0.4, 9.1.2, or later to resolve the improper authorization assignment in SciToken authentication.

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
HtcondorApplication
Affected:= 9.0.0= 9.0.1= 9.0.2= 9.1.0

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
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed HTCondor version
    Run `condor_version` or check the HTCondor package version installed via the system package manager (e.g., `rpm -q htcondor` or `dpkg -l htcondor`)
    Affected if The version is 9.0.0, 9.0.1, 9.0.2, or 9.1.0, or any 9.0.x version before 9.0.4, or any 9.1.x version before 9.1.2
  2. Verify SciToken authentication is in use
    Inspect the HTCondor configuration files (e.g., `/etc/condor/condor_config`) for `SEC_AUTHENTICATION_METHODS` or `AUTHENTICATION_METHODS` setting, and look for `SCITOKENS` in the list. Also check for any `.conf` files in `/etc/condor/` that may define SciToken issuers or validators
    Affected if SciToken authentication (SCITOKENS) is listed as an enabled authentication method in the configuration
  3. Check for authorization mapping configurations
    Examine the HTCondor configuration for `ALLOW_*` or `DENY_*` settings that rely on SciToken claims, particularly settings that may use mapped user identities from token claims for authorization decisions
    Affected if The configuration uses SciToken-based authorization rules where the daemon may be granting permissions beyond the token scope

A user is affected if they run a vulnerable HTCondor version (9.0.x before 9.0.4 or 9.1.x before 9.1.2) AND have SciToken authentication enabled in their configuration.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade HTCondor to version 9.0.4, 9.1.2, or later to resolve the improper authorization assignment in SciToken authentication.

Recommended fix High confidence

HTCondor 9.0.4 or 9.1.2 (or later)

  1. 1. Back up your current HTCondor configuration files (/etc/condor/ and related paths).
  2. 2. For RHEL/CentOS systems: Run 'yum update htcondor' or 'dnf update htcondor' to upgrade to the latest available version.
  3. 3. For Debian/Ubuntu systems: Run 'apt-get update && apt-get install htcondor' to upgrade.
  4. 4. After upgrading, verify the version by running 'condor_version' to confirm you have version 9.0.4 or higher (or 9.1.2 or higher for the 9.1.x line).
  5. 5. Test that SciToken authentication works correctly and that authorizations are properly restricted to what the token allows.
  6. 6. Restart the HTCondor daemon services if not done automatically: 'condor_master -restart' or 'systemctl restart condor'.
Caveat Minor version upgrades within the same release series typically do not introduce breaking changes, but test in a staging environment before production deployment.

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

Fix this in Htcondor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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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-2021-45102 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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