CVE-2020-5021

User impersonation via stale post-reset sessions

Published Jan 8, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Session invalidation failure in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.6 allows local users to impersonate other users. After a password reset, the application leaves an existing session valid instead of revoking it. Access to a pre-reset session is required, and successful reuse exposes and permits changes to data within the impersonated account's permissions.

CVSS severity4.0
Medium
EPSS probability0.24%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Session invalidation failure in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.6 allows local users to impersonate other users. After a password reset, the application leaves an existing session valid instead of revoking it. Access to a pre-reset session is required, and successful reuse exposes and permits changes to data within the impersonated account's permissions.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-5021
Published
Jan 8, 2021
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus
Classifications
CWE-384, T1550.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 8, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=10.1.0
  2. Affected versionversion=10.1.6

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM Spectrum Protect Plusversion=10.1.0; version=10.1.6

Published CVSS scores

4.0IBM CorporationCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
3.6NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N
4.4NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-384Session Fixation
T1550.004Use Alternate Authentication Material: Web Session Cookie

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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