What is CVE-2021-20488?

CVE-2021-20488 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Aix. CVSS score: 6.5/10. Published 2021-06-16.

How severe is CVE-2021-20488?

Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.5 out of 10.

Vulnerability in IBM Aix

CVE-2021-20488

IBM Security Identity Manager 6.0.2 could allow an authenticated malicious user to change the passwords of other users in the Windows AD environment when IBM Security Identity Manager Windows Password Synch Plug-in is deployed and configured. IBM X-Force ID: 197789.

Published 2021-06-16 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.009 (58.5th percentile), scored 2026-09-30.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 58th percentile — 58.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.009 · newest: 0.009 · change: 0.000

Affected products

IBM Aix
IBM Security Identity Manager — versions 6.0.2
IBM Security Identity Manager — versions 6.0.2
Linux Kernel
Microsoft Windows
Oracle Solaris

References

www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6464081 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/197789 (VDB Entry, vdb-entry, Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-20488?: CVE-2021-20488 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Aix. CVSS score: 6.5/10. Published 2021-06-16.
How severe is CVE-2021-20488?: Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.5 out of 10.