CVE-2021-20108

CVE-2021-20108 is a high-severity vulnerability in Zohocorp Manageengine Assetexplorer with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-401.

Key facts

Description

Manage Engine Asset Explorer Agent 1.0.34 listens on port 9000 for incoming commands over HTTPS from Manage Engine Server. The HTTPS certificates are not verified which allows any arbitrary user on the network to send commands over port 9000. While these commands may not be executed (due to authtoken validation), the Asset Explorer agent will reach out to the manage engine server for an HTTP request. During this process, AEAgent.cpp allocates 0x66 bytes using "malloc". This memory is never free-ed in the program, causing a memory leak. Additionally, the instruction sent to aeagent (ie: NEWSCAN, DELTASCAN, etc) is converted to a unicode string, but is never freed. These memory leaks allow a remote attacker to exploit a Denial of Service scenario through repetitively sending these commands to an agent and eventually crashing it the agent due to an out-of-memory condition.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-20108?
Manage Engine Asset Explorer Agent 1.0.34 listens on port 9000 for incoming commands over HTTPS from Manage Engine Server. The HTTPS certificates are not verified which allows any arbitrary user on the network to send commands over port 9000. While these commands may not be executed (due to authtoken validation), the Asset Explorer agent will reach out to the manage engine server for an HTTP request. During this process, AEAgent.cpp allocates 0x66 bytes using "malloc". This memory is never free-ed in the program, causing a memory leak. Additionally, the instruction sent to aeagent (ie: NEWSCAN, DELTASCAN, etc) is converted to a unicode string, but is never freed. These memory leaks allow a remote attacker to exploit a Denial of Service scenario through repetitively sending these commands to an agent and eventually crashing it the agent due to an out-of-memory condition.
How severe is CVE-2021-20108?
CVE-2021-20108 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2021-20108 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (86th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2021-20108?
CVE-2021-20108 affects Zohocorp Manageengine Assetexplorer. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2021-20108?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2021-20108 published?
CVE-2021-20108 was published on 2021-07-19 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

More vulnerabilities in Zohocorp Manageengine Assetexplorer

All CVEs affecting Zohocorp Manageengine Assetexplorer →

Other CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime) vulnerabilities

Browse all CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime) vulnerabilities →