What is CVE-2021-20578?

CVE-2021-20578 is a critical-severity vulnerability in IBM Cloud Pak For Security, classified under Improper Authentication. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2021-09-30.

How severe is CVE-2021-20578?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Auth bypass in IBM Cloud Pak For Security

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 unauthorized actions due to improper or missing authentication controls. IBM X-Force ID: 199282.

Vulnerability class: Broken Authentication

Published 2021-09-30 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.010 (61.9th percentile), scored 2026-10-19.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 62nd percentile — 61.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.010 · newest: 0.010 · change: 0.000

Affected products

IBM Cloud Pak For Security — versions 1.7.0.0, 1.7.1.0, 1.7.2.0
IBM Cloud Pak For Security — versions 1.7.0.0, 1.7.1.0, 1.7.2.0
Red Hat Openshift

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-287 — Improper Authentication

References

www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6493729 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/199282 (VDB Entry, vdb-entry, Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-20578?: CVE-2021-20578 is a critical-severity vulnerability in IBM Cloud Pak For Security, classified under Improper Authentication. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2021-09-30.
How severe is CVE-2021-20578?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.