Login Sign Up

CVE-2021-20533

7.2 HIGH
Remote Code Execution

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2021-20533 allows a remote authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands on IBM Security Verify Access Docker 10.0.0 systems by sending a specially crafted request. This affects organizations using IBM Security Verify Access Docker 10.0.0 with authenticated user access.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:
  • IBM Security Verify Access Docker
Versions: 10.0.0
Operating Systems: Linux (Docker container)
Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes
Notes: Only affects Docker container deployment of IBM Security Verify Access 10.0.0. Requires authenticated user access to exploit.

📦 What is this software?

Security Verify Access by Ibm

View all CVEs affecting Security Verify Access →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Full system compromise allowing attacker to execute arbitrary commands with system privileges, potentially leading to data theft, lateral movement, or complete system takeover.

🟠

Likely Case

Authenticated attacker gains command execution capabilities, enabling privilege escalation, data exfiltration, or deployment of malware.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper network segmentation and least privilege access, impact limited to isolated container environment with minimal lateral movement potential.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - If exposed to internet with authenticated users, attackers can exploit remotely without internal network access.
🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Requires authenticated access, but internal attackers or compromised accounts could exploit for lateral movement.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No
Weaponized: UNKNOWN
Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No
Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires authenticated access and specially crafted request. No public exploit code available as of knowledge cutoff.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Apply fix from IBM Security Verify Access 10.0.0.0-ISS-SVA-FP0001

Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6471895

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download fix from IBM Fix Central 2. Stop IBM Security Verify Access Docker container 3. Apply the fix 4. Restart the container 5. Verify successful installation

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network Segmentation

linux

Restrict network access to IBM Security Verify Access Docker containers to only necessary users and systems

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [verify_access_port] -s [trusted_network] -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [verify_access_port] -j DROP

Authentication Hardening

all

Implement strong authentication controls and monitor for suspicious authenticated sessions

🧯 If You Can't Patch

  • Implement strict network access controls to limit who can reach the vulnerable system
  • Enforce multi-factor authentication and monitor all authenticated sessions for suspicious activity

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if running IBM Security Verify Access Docker version 10.0.0 without the fix applied

Check Version:

docker exec [container_name] /opt/ibm/isva/bin/versioninfo.sh

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify fix package ISS-SVA-FP0001 is installed and container version shows patched

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

  • Unusual command execution patterns in container logs
  • Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful login and command execution

Network Indicators:

  • Unusual outbound connections from IBM Security Verify Access container
  • Suspicious payloads in HTTP requests to authentication endpoints

SIEM Query:

source="docker_logs" AND container_name="*verify*access*" AND (message="*command*" OR message="*exec*" OR message="*shell*")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2021-20533
CVSS v3 Score: 7.2 (HIGH)
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published: July 15, 2021
Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON