CVE-2021-45901Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Username enumeration via divergent password-reset responses

Published Feb 10, 2022 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Username enumeration in ServiceNow Orlando allows remote attackers to identify valid accounts through the password-reset form. PwdAjaxVerifyIdentity returns an XML answer of 200 for an existing username and 500 for a nonexistent one after an unauthenticated form submission. An anonymous session and client-side-recoverable tokens are sufficient, exposing account names that can support password spraying.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability14.32%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Username enumeration in ServiceNow Orlando allows remote attackers to identify valid accounts through the password-reset form. PwdAjaxVerifyIdentity returns an XML answer of 200 for an existing username and 500 for a nonexistent one after an unauthenticated form submission. An anonymous session and client-side-recoverable tokens are sufficient, exposing account names that can support password spraying.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-45901
Published
Feb 10, 2022
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-203, T1087
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 10, 2022CVE 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

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-203Observable Discrepancy
T1087Account Discovery

Public exploit references

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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