CVE-2021-43848
HIGHEPSS 85th pctlDescription
h2o is an open source http server. In code prior to the `8c0eca3` commit h2o may attempt to access uninitialized memory. When receiving QUIC frames in certain order, HTTP/3 server-side implementation of h2o can be misguided to treat uninitialized memory as HTTP/3 frames that have been received. When h2o is used as a reverse proxy, an attacker can abuse this vulnerability to send internal state of h2o to backend servers controlled by the attacker or third party. Also, if there is an HTTP endpoint that reflects the traffic sent from the client, an attacker can use that reflector to obtain internal state of h2o. This internal state includes traffic of other connections in unencrypted form and TLS session tickets. This vulnerability exists in h2o server with HTTP/3 support, between commit 93af138 and d1f0f65. None of the released versions of h2o are affected by this vulnerability. There are no known workarounds. Users of unreleased versions of h2o using HTTP/3 are advised to upgrade immediately.
How to fix
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
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Elevated risk: more likely to be exploited than 85% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-908 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2025-5777 | High | 7.5 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | Fix |
| CVE-2023-24941 | Critical | 9.8 | 95% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2007-1751 | High | 9.3 | 61% | - | - |
| CVE-2008-0081 | Critical | 9.8 | 58% | - | - |
| CVE-2020-1934 | Medium | 5.3 | 52% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2011-1255 | High | 9.3 | 42% | - | - |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2021-43848?
Upgrade h2o to 2021-12-20 or later.
Is CVE-2021-43848 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2021-43848 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 2.7% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 85% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2021-43848?
CVE-2021-43848 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.4, rated high. 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-2021-43848 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for h2o (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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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.