Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Ivanti EPM Cloud Services Appliance version 4.6.0-512 contains a critical code-injection flaw. An unauthenticated network attacker can execute arbitrary code without user interaction. Although execution initially has the limited “nobody” account permissions, the supplied CVSS assessment indicates potentially severe confidentiality, integrity, and availability consequences.
Executive priority
Treat this as an immediate remediation priority because it enables unauthenticated remote code execution and appears in CISA’s KEV catalog. Identify exposed CSA 4.6.0-512 systems first, restrict access, apply Ivanti’s approved remediation, and investigate potentially exposed appliances for compromise.
Technical view
CVE-2021-44529 is a CWE-94 code-injection vulnerability with CVSS 3.1 score 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). The supplied affected record identifies Ivanti EPM CSA 4.6.0-512. Successful exploitation permits unauthenticated arbitrary-code execution as “nobody.” The bundle does not establish whether additional versions are affected.
Likely exposure
Highest risk applies to reachable Ivanti EPM Cloud Services Appliance deployments running version 4.6.0-512, especially internet-accessible systems. Exposure for other releases cannot be determined from the supplied evidence. Organizations should inventory CSA instances, confirm exact versions, and review network reachability.
Exploitation context
CISA lists CVE-2021-44529 in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, supporting evidence of exploitation in the wild. The provided sources do not describe campaign scope, attacker identities, exploitation frequency, or indicators of compromise. No exploit mechanics should be inferred from the listing alone.
Researcher notes
The record supports remote, low-complexity, unauthenticated code injection without user interaction. Execution is described as the “nobody” user, but CVSS assigns high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The source bundle provides no root-cause detail, affected-version range beyond 4.6.0-512, patch identifier, indicators, or exploitation telemetry.
Mitigation direction
- Follow Ivanti advisory SA-2021-12-02 for the vendor-approved remediation or upgrade path.
- Prioritize internet-accessible CSA 4.6.0-512 systems for immediate remediation.
- Restrict CSA network access to trusted administrative sources until remediation is verified.
- Increase monitoring for unexpected processes, files, outbound connections, and configuration changes.
- Check current Ivanti guidance if the advisory does not clearly cover your deployed release.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all Ivanti EPM CSA instances and record their exact versions.
- Confirm whether any CSA 4.6.0-512 instance is reachable from untrusted networks.
- Verify vendor-recommended remediation is installed using approved version or update records.
- Review historical appliance and network logs for unexplained activity around exposed systems.
- Validate access controls prevent untrusted clients from reaching CSA management services.
Public sources used
The source record changed after analysis: Material source record changed after analysis.
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-94: Code execution behavior lookup
Code execution and unsafe deserialization weaknesses often justify reviewing execution behavior and process telemetry. 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 lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-44529 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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.
CISA KEV status
SSVC decision data
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:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- Added to KEVCISA-ADP
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities metadata lists this CVE as known exploited.
- ADP timelineCISA-ADP
CVE-2021-44529 added to CISA KEV
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
- 2024-03-25T00:00:00.000Z: CVE-2021-44529 added to CISA KEV
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://forums.ivanti.com/s/article/SA-2021-12-02CVE reference, hackerone
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-44529CVE reference, CISA-ADP · government-resource
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.
Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.