# CVE-2021-4201: Pre-authentication session hijacking

> Remote unauthenticated attackers can hijack sessions, including admin sessions, due to missing access control in ForgeRock Access Management.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Feb 2022
- **Updated:** 14 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-63v3-hpf5-wfmw

## What is CVE-2021-4201?

CVE-2021-4201 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in ForgeRock Access Management, published on 14 Feb 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Missing access control in ForgeRock Access Management 7.1.0 and earlier versions on all platforms allows remote unauthenticated attackers to hijack sessions, including potentially admin-level sessions. This issue affects: ForgeRock Access Management 7.1 versions prior to 7.1.1; 6.5 versions prior to 6.5.4; all previous versions.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication), CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-4201?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Forgerock Access Management.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-4201?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-4201 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-4201 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-4201 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in ForgeRock Access Management

- [CVE-2021-35464](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-35464/): ForgeRock Access Management (AM) Core Server Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-3748](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3748/): Improper authorization that can lead to account impersonation (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-37153](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37153/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-37154](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37154/): XML external entity in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-0582](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0582/): Path Traversal in ForgeRock Access Managment (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-4201 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-4201 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in ForgeRock Access Management, published on 14 Feb 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-4201 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ForgeRock Access Management. 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-2021-4201/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4201/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-4201
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-4201
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-4201

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4201/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.