Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Johnson Controls Metasys building-management servers may expose credentials in plain text through API calls under some circumstances. If an affected system is present, exposed credentials could let an attacker move from a local/user-assisted opportunity into broader control of the environment.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority building-management platform issue where affected systems exist. It is not shown as actively exploited in the provided sources, but credential exposure in operational technology can create serious business and safety risk.
Technical view
CVE-2021-36204 is CWE-522 affecting Metasys ADS/ADX/OAS version 10 before 10.1.6 and version 11 before 11.0.3. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, required user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Organizations running Johnson Controls Metasys ADS, ADX, or OAS 10.x below 10.1.6 or 11.x below 11.0.3 are the stated exposure group. The source bundle does not identify other affected products or hosted services.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates local attack conditions and required user interaction, but successful exposure could reveal credentials in plain text.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record, Johnson Controls advisory reference, and CISA ICS advisory reference. Do not expand affected scope beyond Metasys ADS/ADX/OAS 10 and 11 without vendor confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Metasys ADS/ADX/OAS 10.x to 10.1.6 or later.
- Upgrade Metasys ADS/ADX/OAS 11.x to 11.0.3 or later.
- Review Johnson Controls and CISA advisories for environment-specific guidance.
- Prioritize credential review after remediation if exposure is suspected.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Metasys ADS, ADX, and OAS deployments and record exact versions.
- Flag any 10.x build below 10.1.6 as vulnerable.
- Flag any 11.x build below 11.0.3 as vulnerable.
- Confirm remediation status against Johnson Controls advisory guidance.
- Check whether exposed credentials require response handling under internal policy.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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.
CWE-522: Credential and account abuse lookup
Authentication and credential weaknesses can make valid-account abuse and credential telemetry useful review starting points. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-36204 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/cyber-solutions/security-advisoriesCVE reference
- ICS-CERT AdvisoryCVE reference · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Insufficiently Protected Credentials
Insufficiently Protected Credentials represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.