# CVE-2021-25991: ifme - Improper Access Control leads to admin deactivation

> An improper access control flaw allows administrators to ban themselves, resulting in complete loss of admin access to the ifme application.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Dec 2021
- **Updated:** 30 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9869-mhm7-vvmm

## What is CVE-2021-25991?

CVE-2021-25991 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in ifmeorg ifme, published on 29 Dec 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

In Ifme, versions v5.0.0 to v7.32 are vulnerable against an improper access control, which makes it possible for admins to ban themselves leading to their deactivation from Ifme account and complete loss of admin access to Ifme.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-25991?

It affects 1 product.


Products: If-Me Ifme.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-25991?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-25991 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-25991 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-25991 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in ifmeorg ifme

- [CVE-2021-25992](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25992/): ifme - Insufficient Session Expiration (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-25988](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25988/): ifme - Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) in Notifications section (medium 5.4)
- [CVE-2021-25989](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25989/): ifme - Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) in Groups section (medium 5.4)
- [CVE-2021-25990](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25990/): ifme - Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) in Contacts section (medium 5.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-25991 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-25991 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in ifmeorg ifme, published on 29 Dec 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-25991 exists.

Affected product: ifmeorg ifme. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25991/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25991/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-25991
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-25991
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-25991

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25991/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.