CVE-2021-41189Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Administrator escalation via misidentified group parentage

Published Oct 29, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Incorrect authorization in DSpace 7.0 allows remote authenticated community or collection administrators to become system administrators. GroupServiceImpl.getParentObject treats the first collection default-read policy for a group as proof that the group belongs to that collection, without verifying its generated default-read group name. A community or collection administrator can exploit that false parent relationship through the REST group-membership endpoint to add an account to the system Administrator group and gain full repository control.

CVSS severity7.2
High
EPSS probability2.06%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Incorrect authorization in DSpace 7.0 allows remote authenticated community or collection administrators to become system administrators. GroupServiceImpl.getParentObject treats the first collection default-read policy for a group as proof that the group belongs to that collection, without verifying its generated default-read group name. A community or collection administrator can exploit that false parent relationship through the REST group-membership endpoint to add an account to the system Administrator group and gain full repository control.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-41189
Published
Oct 29, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
DSpace
Product
DSpace
Classifications
CWE-863, T1098
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 29, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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=>= 7.0, < 7.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

DSpace · DSpaceversion=>= 7.0, < 7.1

Published CVSS scores

7.2GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
T1098Account Manipulation

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo