CVE-2021-21998Network attack vector

Unauthenticated administrative access via authentication bypass

Published Jun 23, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Authentication bypass in VMware Carbon Black App Control 8.0, 8.1, 8.5 before 8.5.8, and 8.6 before 8.6.2 allows attackers administrative access. The vendor has not disclosed the affected request handler or the operation that accepts an unauthenticated management request as authorized. Network reachability to the management server is sufficient, and successful exploitation grants product-administrator control without credentials.

CVSS severity9.4
Critical
EPSS probability10.62%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Authentication bypass in VMware Carbon Black App Control 8.0, 8.1, 8.5 before 8.5.8, and 8.6 before 8.6.2 allows attackers administrative access. The vendor has not disclosed the affected request handler or the operation that accepts an unauthenticated management request as authorized. Network reachability to the management server is sufficient, and successful exploitation grants product-administrator control without credentials.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-21998
Published
Jun 23, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
VMware
Product
VMware Carbon Black App Control
Classifications
CWE-287
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 23, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=VMware Carbon Black App Control 8.0, 8.1, 8.5 prior to 8.5.8, and 8.6 prior to 8.6.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

VMware · VMware Carbon Black App Controlversion=VMware Carbon Black App Control 8.0, 8.1, 8.5 prior to 8.5.8, and 8.6 prior to 8.6.2

Published CVSS scores

9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
9.4VMwareCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L

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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-287Improper Authentication

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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