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CVE-2021-20288· NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

An authentication flaw was found in ceph in versions before 14.2.20.

An authentication flaw was found in ceph in versions before 14.2.20. When the monitor handles CEPHX_GET_AUTH_SESSION_KEY requests, it doesn't sanitize other_keys, allowing key reuse. An attacker who can request a global_id can exploit the ability of any user to request a global_id previously associated with another user, as ceph does not force the reuse of old keys to generate new ones. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.

HighCVSS 7.2 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Apr 15, 2021
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
2.1% · 81th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

29

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
28 / 40 · 7.2 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 2.1%

Noroxi analysis

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Affected systems

VendorProduct
linuxfoundationceph
redhatceph storage
fedoraprojectfedora
debiandebian linux

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • debian debian linux10.0
  • fedoraproject fedora32
  • fedoraproject fedora33
  • fedoraproject fedora34
  • linuxfoundation cephbefore 14.2.21
  • redhat ceph storage4.0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (redhat). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • n/a ceph

    • ceph 14.2.20affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:10cephbefore 12.2.11+dfsg1-2.1+deb10u112.2.11+dfsg1-2.1+deb10u1
Debian:12cephbefore 14.2.20-114.2.20-1
openSUSE:Leap 15.2cephbefore 15.2.11.83+g8a15f484c2-lp152.2.15.115.2.11.83+g8a15f484c2-lp152.2.15.1
openSUSE:Leap 15.2ceph-testbefore 15.2.11.83+g8a15f484c2-lp152.2.15.115.2.11.83+g8a15f484c2-lp152.2.15.1
openSUSE:Tumbleweedbenjibefore 0.15.0-1.20.15.0-1.2
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7cephbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-basebefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-commonbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-debuginfobefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-fusebefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-mdsbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-mgrbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-monbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-osdbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-radosgwbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-selinuxbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7ceph-testbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7libcephfs-develbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7libcephfs2before 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7librados-develbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7librados2before 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7libradosstriper1before 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7librbd-develbefore 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp
Red Hat:ceph_storage:3::el7librbd1before 2:12.2.12-141.el7cp2:12.2.12-141.el7cp

+96

Same product

linuxfoundation: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2022-0670A flaw was found in Openstack manilla owning a Ceph File system "share", which enables the owner to read/write any manilla share or entire f
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2020-10736An authorization bypass vulnerability was found in Ceph versions 15.2.0 before 15.2.2, where the ceph-mon and ceph-mgr daemons do not proper
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2020-12059An issue was discovered in Ceph through 13.2.9.
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2020-1699A path traversal flaw was found in the Ceph dashboard implemented in upstream versions v14.2.5, v14.2.6, v15.0.0 of Ceph storage and has bee
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2020-1760A flaw was found in the Ceph Object Gateway, where it supports request sent by an anonymous user in Amazon S3.
    24Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:ceph14.2.20-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:benji0.15.0-1.2 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage registry (OSV)
opensuse:ceph15.2.11.83+g8a15f484c2-lp152.2.15.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.2Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:ceph-test15.2.11.83+g8a15f484c2-lp152.2.15.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.2Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-base2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-common2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-debuginfo2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-grafana-dashboards2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-mgr2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-mgr-dashboard2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-mgr-diskprediction-local2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-mgr-k8sevents2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-mgr-rook2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-mon2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:ceph-selinux2:14.2.11-181.el7cp · Red Hat:ceph_storage:4::el7Package registry (OSV)
suse:ceph14.2.20.402+g6aa76c6815-3.60.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOSPackage registry (OSV)
suse:deepsea0.9.35+git.0.5a1dc9fe-3.34.1 · SUSE:Enterprise Storage 6Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • Administrator privileges are required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-287 · Improper Authentication

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

Authentication is added route by route instead of being enforced in one place. When a route added later bypasses the shared middleware, the session check never runs for it.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-287 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
app.use("/admin", requireSession, adminRouter);
// Route added later skips the middlewareapp.post("/admin-api/config", updateConfig);

Fixed

ts
const admin = express.Router();admin.use(requireSession, requireRole("admin"));
admin.post("/config", updateConfig);app.use("/admin", admin);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records