LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2021-20578: IBM Cloud Pak for Security (CP4S) 1.7.0.0, 1.7.1.0, 1.7.2.0, and 1.8.0.0 could allow an attacker to perform...

IBM Cloud Pak for Security (CP4S) 1.7.0.0, 1.7.1.0, 1.7.2.0, and 1.8.0.0 could allow an attacker to perform unauthorized actions due to improper or missing authentication controls. IBM X-Force ID: 199282.

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

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-20578 affects IBM Cloud Pak for Security versions 1.7.0.0 through 1.8.0.0. Missing or improper authentication controls could let an unauthenticated attacker perform unauthorized actions. Business urgency is moderate: impact is limited, but authentication failures in a security platform deserve prompt review.

Executive priority

Treat this as a moderate-priority security-platform fix. Prioritize remediation where CP4S is reachable from shared or less-trusted networks, or where it protects sensitive security operations data.

Technical view

The source describes improper or missing authentication controls in IBM CP4S 1.7.0.0, 1.7.1.0, 1.7.2.0, and 1.8.0.0. CVSS 3.0 is 5.4 with adjacent-network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, low confidentiality and integrity impact, and no availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to IBM Cloud Pak for Security deployments running the listed versions. The CVSS vector indicates adjacent-network reachability, so internet exposure is not established by the supplied sources.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not identify active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. The CVSS temporal metric shows exploit code maturity as unproven, but organizations should still validate exposure because authentication control issues can affect trust boundaries.

Researcher notes

Evidence is concise and does not describe the specific endpoint, action class, or fixed version in the bundle. Avoid assuming remote internet exploitability. Validate version, network adjacency, authentication boundaries, and vendor remediation state.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify all IBM CP4S deployments and record exact versions.
  • Review IBM advisory 6493729 for the vendor-approved remediation.
  • Apply IBM’s official fix or upgrade path for affected versions.
  • Restrict network access to CP4S management surfaces where possible.
  • Monitor IBM X-Force entry 199282 for updated guidance.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether CP4S version is 1.7.0.0, 1.7.1.0, 1.7.2.0, or 1.8.0.0.
  • Check whether CP4S interfaces are reachable from adjacent networks.
  • Review authentication logs for unexpected unauthenticated or unauthorized activity.
  • Verify remediation status against IBM’s advisory, not assumptions.
  • Document remaining exposure and compensating access controls.
Prepared
Confidence
high
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-2021-20578 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/C:L/AC:L/PR:N/A:N/I:L/AV:A/S:U/UI:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O

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/C:L/AC:L/PR:N/A:N/I:L/AV:A/S:U/UI:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O2.82.5Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.4Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-20578Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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 Security1.7.0.0, 1.7.1.0, 1.7.2.0, 1.8.0.0Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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