CVE-2021-20532

Local privilege escalation via insecure directory permissions

Published Apr 26, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Privilege escalation in IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments 8.1.0.0 through 8.1.11.0 allows local users to take full control. The installed Spectrum Protect Client component assigns insecure permissions to an undisclosed directory; IBM does not identify the entries or contents. Exploitation requires local access to Windows, and the published assessment indicates additional high-complexity conditions without disclosing them.

CVSS severity7.4
High
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments 8.1.0.0 through 8.1.11.0 allows local users to take full control. The installed Spectrum Protect Client component assigns insecure permissions to an undisclosed directory; IBM does not identify the entries or contents. Exploitation requires local access to Windows, and the published assessment indicates additional high-complexity conditions without disclosing them.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-20532
Published
Apr 26, 2021
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments
Classifications
CWE-276, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 26, 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=8.1.0.0
  2. Affected versionversion=8.1.11.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environmentsversion=8.1.0.0; version=8.1.11.0

Published CVSS scores

7.2NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.4IBM CorporationCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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-276Incorrect Default Permissions
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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