Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Johnson Controls Metasys versions 10 and 11 may leave a session token active after logout under certain circumstances. If an attacker can obtain or reuse that token, building-management access could persist after a user believes the session ended. The CVSS score is high, but the attack complexity is also high.
Executive priority
Prioritize this for organizations using Metasys to manage building or industrial environments. The business concern is unauthorized continued access after logout, with possible impact to sensitive facility data or operational control. Remediation should follow vendor guidance.
Technical view
CVE-2021-36205 is a CWE-459 incomplete cleanup flaw in Metasys where logout may not clear the session token. The CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating remote reachability with high attack complexity and potential confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Johnson Controls Metasys deployments running version 10 or 11. Risk is higher where Metasys interfaces are reachable from broader enterprise networks or remote access paths. The source bundle does not identify affected components beyond Metasys.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not state active exploitation, and this CVE is not listed as CISA KEV in the bundle. Treat exploitation status as unconfirmed. The issue concerns session persistence after logout, not a disclosed public exploit path in the provided evidence.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sufficient for affected product, affected major versions, weakness class, and CVSS impact. The bundle does not provide patch version details, exploit evidence, or exact triggering conditions, so validation should remain controlled and source-grounded.
Mitigation direction
- Check Johnson Controls security advisories for the vendor-directed remediation for Metasys 10 and 11.
- Review CISA ICSA-22-104-02 for any operational mitigations or update guidance.
- Inventory all Metasys 10 and 11 instances before prioritizing remediation.
- Limit Metasys access to trusted management networks while remediation is pending.
- Avoid relying on logout alone for session termination until vendor guidance is applied.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any Metasys deployments run version 10 or version 11.
- Review vendor and CISA advisories for affected build details and remediation status.
- Assess whether Metasys interfaces are reachable from untrusted networks.
- Validate session-management behavior only in an authorized test environment.
- Review access logs for suspicious post-logout session activity, if logging supports it.
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-459: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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 lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-36205 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
- 8.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/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:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.25.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/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 · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- ICS-CERT AdvisoryCVE reference · third-party-advisory, x_refsource_CERT
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.
Incomplete Cleanup
Incomplete Cleanup represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.