CVE-2021-22515

Single-factor account access via undisclosed MFA downgrade

Published Jul 12, 2021 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Authentication bypass in OpenText NetIQ Advanced Authentication before 6.3 SP4 Patch 1 allows remote authenticated users to log in with one factor. OpenText has not published the affected authentication flow, request, or validation error that permits the downgrade. Exploitation requires adjacent-network access and low-privilege credentials, and it bypasses the second factor without reported data modification or service interruption.

CVSS severity4.8
Medium
EPSS probability0.69%
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 OpenText NetIQ Advanced Authentication before 6.3 SP4 Patch 1 allows remote authenticated users to log in with one factor. OpenText has not published the affected authentication flow, request, or validation error that permits the downgrade. Exploitation requires adjacent-network access and low-privilege credentials, and it bypasses the second factor without reported data modification or service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-22515
Published
Jul 12, 2021
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
OpenText
Product
OpenText NetIQ Advanced Authentication
Classifications
CWE-863, T1556.006
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 12, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 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=NetIQ Advanced Authentication <6.3 SP4 Patch 1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

OpenText · OpenText NetIQ Advanced Authenticationversion=NetIQ Advanced Authentication <6.3 SP4 Patch 1

Published CVSS scores

4.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N
4.8OpenTextCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
6.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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.

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)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
T1556.006Modify Authentication Process: Multi-Factor 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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