CVE & CISA-KEV Catalog

CVE-2021-23839

LOWEPSS 86th pctl
3.7
CVSS v3
NVD

Description

OpenSSL 1.0.2 supports SSLv2. If a client attempts to negotiate SSLv2 with a server that is configured to support both SSLv2 and more recent SSL and TLS versions then a check is made for a version rollback attack when unpadding an RSA signature. Clients that support SSL or TLS versions greater than SSLv2 are supposed to use a special form of padding. A server that supports greater than SSLv2 is supposed to reject connection attempts from a client where this special form of padding is present, because this indicates that a version rollback has occurred (i.e. both client and server support greater than SSLv2, and yet this is the version that is being requested). The implementation of this padding check inverted the logic so that the connection attempt is accepted if the padding is present, and rejected if it is absent. This means that such as server will accept a connection if a version rollback attack has occurred. Further the server will erroneously reject a connection if a normal SSLv2 connection attempt is made. Only OpenSSL 1.0.2 servers from version 1.0.2s to 1.0.2x are affected by this issue. In order to be vulnerable a 1.0.2 server must: 1) have configured SSLv2 support at compile time (this is off by default), 2) have configured SSLv2 support at runtime (this is off by default), 3) have configured SSLv2 ciphersuites (these are not in the default ciphersuite list) OpenSSL 1.1.1 does not have SSLv2 support and therefore is not vulnerable to this issue. The underlying error is in the implementation of the RSA_padding_check_SSLv23() function. This also affects the RSA_SSLV23_PADDING padding mode used by various other functions. Although 1.1.1 does not support SSLv2 the RSA_padding_check_SSLv23() function still exists, as does the RSA_SSLV23_PADDING padding mode. Applications that directly call that function or use that padding mode will encounter this issue. However since there is no support for the SSLv2 protocol in 1.1.1 this is considered a bug and not a security issue in that version. OpenSSL 1.0.2 is out of support and no longer receiving public updates. Premium support customers of OpenSSL 1.0.2 should upgrade to 1.0.2y. Other users should upgrade to 1.1.1j. Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2y (Affected 1.0.2s-1.0.2x).

How to fix

Remediation Available
opensslDebian
Fixed in:1.0.0d-1CVE-2021-23839
Fixed in:1.0.0d-1CVE-2021-23839
Fixed in:1.0.0d-1CVE-2021-23839
Fixed in:1.0.0d-1CVE-2021-23839

TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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

Exploit Intelligence

2.96%probability of exploitation in 30 days
86thpercentile

Elevated risk: more likely to be exploited than 86% of all known CVEs.

References

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-327 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVESeverityCVSSEPSSExploitedFix
CVE-2015-2808Low3.774%-Fix
CVE-2023-34039Critical9.864%-Fix
CVE-2016-6602Critical9.855%--
CVE-2014-8687Critical9.844%--
CVE-2020-13777High7.418%-Fix
CVE-2017-17428Medium5.915%--

Common questions

How do I fix CVE-2021-23839?

Upgrade openssl on debian 11 to 1.0.0d-1 or later.

Is CVE-2021-23839 being actively exploited?

Not that we know of. CVE-2021-23839 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 3.0% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 86% of all scored CVEs.

How severe is CVE-2021-23839?

CVE-2021-23839 has a CVSS v3 base score of 3.7, rated low. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

What does CVE-2021-23839 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for openssl (Debian). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

Embed a live status badge for CVE-2021-23839
CVE-2021-23839 severity badge

Markdown

[![CVE-2021-23839](https://tridentstack.com/cve/badge/CVE-2021-23839.svg)](https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2021-23839)

HTML

<a href="https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2021-23839"><img src="https://tridentstack.com/cve/badge/CVE-2021-23839.svg" alt="CVE-2021-23839"></a>

Find and fix vulnerabilities across your fleet

TridentStack Control continuously scans your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet for known vulnerabilities, prioritizes them by severity and active exploitation, and patches them automatically.

See how it worksStart freeThis CVE lookup is free and always will be.

This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2024-11-21.