# CVE-2021-29859: Auth bypass in Cloud Pak for Business Automation

> A user with physical access can bypass logout validation to perform unauthorized actions or access sensitive information in IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation.

- **Severity:** Low 3.5 (`CVSS:3.0/S:U/A:N/AV:P/PR:N/AC:L/C:L/I:L/UI:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 May 2022
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q6gh-mcpp-qm8j

## What is CVE-2021-29859?

CVE-2021-29859 is a low-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation, published on 2 May 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM ICP4A - User Management System Component (IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation V21.0.3 through V21.0.3-IF008, V21.0.2 through V21.0.2-IF009, and V21.0.1 through V21.0.1-IF007) could allow a user with physical access to the system to perform unauthorized actions or obtain sensitive information due to insufficient validation and recvocation another user logouting out. IBM X-Force ID: 206081.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-29859?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm Cloud Pak for Business Automation.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-29859?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-29859 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-29859 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-29859 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation

- [CVE-2023-35899](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-35899/): IBM Cloud Pak for Automation CSV injection (high 7.0)
- [CVE-2025-36092](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-36092/): IBM Business Automation Insights improper input validation (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2025-36023](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-36023/): IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation security bypass (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2025-1838](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-1838/): IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation denial of service (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2023-38367](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38367/): IBM Cloud Pak for Automation authentication bypass (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-29859 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-29859 is a low-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation, published on 2 May 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-29859 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation. 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-2021-29859/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-29859/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-29859
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29859
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-29859

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-29859/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.