CVE-2021-42000 [Medium] | Security Vulnerability in Pingfederate

When a password reset or password change flow with an authentication policy is configured and the adapter in the reset or change policy supports multiple parallel reset flows, an existing user can reset another existing users password.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	0.05%	0.53%	+0.47%
2	2023-03-07	0.89%	0.05%	-0.83%
3	2022-02-11	—	0.89%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

0.05%

0.53%

+0.47%

2023-03-07

0.89%

0.05%

-0.83%

2022-02-11

—

0.89%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
5.3	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:H) Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:N) Service keeps running; no real outage angle.	1.6	3.6	[email protected]
6.5	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:N) Service keeps running; no real outage angle.	2.8	3.6	[email protected]
3.5	2.0	LOW	`AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:M) Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones. Authentication (AU:S) A single authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:N) No confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:P) Partial integrity impact. Availability impact (A:N) No availability impact.	6.8	2.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

5.3

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H): Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N): Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

1.6

3.6

[email protected]

6.5

3.1

MEDIUM

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

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N): Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

2.8

3.6

[email protected]

3.5

2.0

LOW

AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M): Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:S): A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N): No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P): Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N): No availability impact.

6.8

2.9

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-42000

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
pingidentity	pingfederate	<= 9.3.0	cpe:2.3:a:pingidentity:pingfederate::::::::
pingidentity	pingfederate	>= 10.0.0, <= 10.0.11	cpe:2.3:a:pingidentity:pingfederate::::::::
pingidentity	pingfederate	>= 10.1.0, <= 10.1.8	cpe:2.3:a:pingidentity:pingfederate::::::::
pingidentity	pingfederate	>= 10.2.0, <= 10.2.6	cpe:2.3:a:pingidentity:pingfederate::::::::
pingidentity	pingfederate	>= 10.3.0, <= 10.3.2	cpe:2.3:a:pingidentity:pingfederate::::::::
pingidentity	pingfederate	9.3.3	cpe:2.3:a:pingidentity:pingfederate:9.3.3:-::::::
pingidentity	pingfederate	9.3.3	cpe:2.3:a:pingidentity:pingfederate:9.3.3:p15::::::

References for CVE-2021-42000

URL	Tags
https://docs.pingidentity.com/bundle/pingfederate-103/page/hhm1634833631515.html	Release Notes Vendor Advisory
https://www.pingidentity.com/en/resources/downloads/pingfederate.html	Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2021-42000 | Ping Identity PingFederate Password Reset and Password Change Mishandling with an authentication policy in parallel reset flows

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-42000

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-42000

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-42000

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-42000

References for CVE-2021-42000