LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2021-20368: IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting.

IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 195357.

MediumCVSS 5.4Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 has a Web UI cross-site scripting flaw. An authenticated user could place JavaScript into the interface, potentially changing what trusted users see and exposing credentials within a session. The business risk is targeted account compromise, not system-wide takeover.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate-priority remediation item. Prioritize environments with broad Web UI access, privileged user activity, or internet-adjacent access. It is less urgent than unauthenticated code execution, but credible credential disclosure risk justifies timely patch planning.

Technical view

CVE-2021-20368 is an authenticated, network-reachable XSS issue in IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3. CVSS 3.0 score is 5.4, with low complexity, low privileges required, user interaction required, changed scope, low confidentiality and integrity impact, and no availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to organizations running IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 with accessible Web UI functionality. Risk is higher where the interface is reachable by many authenticated users or externally available through corporate access paths.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The CVSS vector includes high exploit maturity, but the provided sources do not describe public exploitation details, exploit procedures, or observed attacks.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports XSS in the trusted Web UI and possible credential disclosure. The source bundle does not include affected components, exact vulnerable fields, or detailed fixed versions, so validation should stay version- and advisory-driven.

Mitigation direction

  • Review IBM advisory 6471335 for the official remediation path.
  • Apply IBM-recommended updates or fixes for affected version 4.3.
  • Limit Web UI access to trusted networks and required users.
  • Use MFA and session controls to reduce credential exposure impact.
  • Monitor for unusual Web UI changes or suspicious authenticated activity.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory IBM Cloud Pak for Applications deployments and versions.
  • Confirm whether any deployment runs affected version 4.3.
  • Check whether IBM advisory remediation has been applied.
  • Review Web UI access paths for unnecessary external exposure.
  • Validate logs for suspicious authenticated UI activity.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-20368 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.4 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:R/PR:L/I:L/AC:L/A:N/S:C/AV:N/C:L/RL:O/E:H/RC:C

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
5.4CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/UI:R/PR:L/I:L/AC:L/A:N/S:C/AV:N/C:L/RL:O/E:H/RC:C2.32.7Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.4Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-20368Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:R/PR:L/I:L/AC:L/A:N/S:C/AV:N/C:L/RL:O/E:H/RC:C

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
IBMCloud Pak for Applications4.3Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.