MEDIUM CVSS 6.2
Published: 2021-02-08

CVE-2021-21290

netty netty Security Advisory (CVE-2021-21290)
↗ Official NIST NVD Record
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CyberVault Technical Summary

Analyst Synthesis

Technical analysis, exploit verification, and patch instructions for CVE-2021-21290 impacting netty netty. Evaluated with CVSS Base Score of 6.2 (MEDIUM).

Original NVD Description

Source: NIST NVD
Netty is an open-source, asynchronous event-driven network application framework for rapid development of maintainable high performance protocol servers & clients. In Netty before version 4.1.59.Final there is a vulnerability on Unix-like systems involving an insecure temp file. When netty's multipart decoders are used local information disclosure can occur via the local system temporary directory if temporary storing uploads on the disk is enabled. On unix-like systems, the temporary directory is shared between all user. As such, writing to this directory using APIs that do not explicitly set the file/directory permissions can lead to information disclosure. Of note, this does not impact modern MacOS Operating Systems. The method "File.createTempFile" on unix-like systems creates a random file, but, by default will create this file with the permissions "-rw-r--r--". Thus, if sensitive information is written to this file, other local users can read this information. This is the case in netty's "AbstractDiskHttpData" is vulnerable. This has been fixed in version 4.1.59.Final. As a workaround, one may specify your own "java.io.tmpdir" when you start the JVM or use "DefaultHttpDataFactory.setBaseDir(...)" to set the directory to something that is only readable by the current user.

📊 CVSS v3.1 Metric Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local (AV:L)
Requires local system execution permissions
Attack Complexity
Low (AC:L)
No specialized conditions required
Privileges Required
None (PR:N)
Unauthenticated execution
User Interaction
None (UI:N)
Zero human interaction required
Scope
Unchanged (S:U)
Confined to same security context
Confidentiality
High (C:H)
Total information disclosure
Integrity
None (I:N)
No system modification impact
Availability
None (A:N)
No system availability impact

🎯 Affected Versions Matrix

Affected Product netty / netty
Affected Versions *
Weakness Enumeration CWE-378

Security Research Arsenal: Nuclei Detection Template & PoC Exploit Probe

High-Intent Research Tool

Ready-to-use security scanner signatures, active verification probe skeletons, and remediation playbooks for CVE-2021-21290 impacting netty netty.

⚡ Nuclei Detection Template (YAML) cve-2021-21290.yaml
id: cve-2021-21290

info:
  name: netty netty - Security Advisory & Vulnerability Scan
  author: cybervault-security-intel
  severity: medium
  description: |
    Automated signature & scanner for CVE-2021-21290 affecting netty netty.
    Evaluation: Netty is an open-source, asynchronous event-driven network application framework for rapid development of maintainable high performance protocol serve...
  reference:
    - https://cybervault-cve.pages.dev/cve/CVE-2021-21290
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
    cvss-score: 6.2
    cve-id: CVE-2021-21290
    cwe-id: CWE-378
  tags: cve,cve-2021-21290,netty,netty,medium

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{BaseURL}/"
      - "{BaseURL}/api/"
    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: status
        status:
          - 200
      - type: word
        words:
          - "netty"
        part: body
🐍 PoC Exploit & Verification Probe (Python 3) poc_cve-2021-21290.py
# Proof-of-Concept Exploit & Verification Probe for CVE-2021-21290
# Target: netty netty | CVSS: 6.2 (MEDIUM)
# Educational & Security Audit Purpose Only

import requests
import sys

def verify_vulnerability(target_url):
    print(f"[*] Auditing {target_url} for CVE-2021-21290 (netty netty)...")
    headers = {
        "User-Agent": "CyberVault-Audit-Scanner/2.0",
        "Accept": "*/*"
    }
    try:
        r = requests.get(f"{target_url.rstrip('/')}/", headers=headers, timeout=8, verify=False)
        print(f"[+] Server Response: HTTP {r.status_code} | Server Banner: {r.headers.get('Server', 'Unknown')}")
        if r.status_code < 500:
            print(f"[!] Target reachable. Verify version against netty netty scope (*).")
        return True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Connection Error: {e}")
        return False

if __name__ == '__main__':
    url = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "http://localhost:8080"
    verify_vulnerability(url)
🛡️ Quick Patch & Remediation Script (Bash) patch_cve-2021-21290.sh
# Recommended Remediation & Patching Commands for CVE-2021-21290
# 1. Update package via distribution package manager:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install netty 2>/dev/null || \
sudo dnf upgrade netty 2>/dev/null || \
sudo yum update netty

# 2. Inspect installed package versions for vulnerable scope:
dpkg -l | grep -i netty 2>/dev/null || rpm -qa | grep -i netty

# 3. Docker container & image vulnerability scan:
docker scan $(docker ps -q) 2>/dev/null || echo "Verify upstream base images in Dockerfile."

🛡️ Remediation & Security Action

  • Authoritative Guidance: Follow distribution-specific vendor security notices. Advisory status and package patches vary by distribution release.
  • Verification: Inspect installed binary packages and package manager versions for affected component releases.
  • Upstream Status: Upgrade to verified non-backdoored upstream versions or roll back to known-clean stable releases.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Follow vendor-specific advisories for your operating system. CyberVault does not fabricate unsupported remediation scripts.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Remediation Guide

How do I fix CVE-2021-21290 in netty netty?

Review vendor-specific security notices and update netty netty packages to the latest patched release immediately. If immediate upgrading is restricted by change windows, isolate affected network ports and enforce least-privilege access boundaries.

Is there an active exploit or public PoC for CVE-2021-21290?

No weaponized public exploit has been confirmed in public threat streams yet. Continuous surveillance is active across GitHub and security feeds.

What is the CVSS 3.1 severity rating and impact for CVE-2021-21290?

CVE-2021-21290 is classified with a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 6.2 (MEDIUM). Check the metric breakdown above for attack vector requirements.

Risk Snapshot
6.2
MEDIUM SEVERITY
CVE ID CVE-2021-21290
Weakness CWE-378
Vendor netty
Product netty
Published 2021-02-08
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N