CVE-2021-22947
5.9 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2021-22947 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting haxx curl. It was published on September 29, 2021 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.9 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.9, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
When curl >= 7.20.0 and <= 7.78.0 connects to an IMAP or POP3 server to retrieve data using STARTTLS to upgrade to TLS security, the server can respond and send back multiple responses at once that curl caches. curl would then upgrade to TLS but not flush the in-queue of cached responses but instead continue using and trustingthe responses it got *before* the TLS handshake as if they were authenticated.Using this flaw, it allows a Man-In-The-Middle attacker to first inject the fake responses, then pass-through the TLS traffic from the legitimate server and trick curl into sending data back to the user thinking the attacker's injected data comes from the TLS-protected server.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from haxx. Update curl to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| haxx | curl | >= 7.20.0, < 7.79.0 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-22947?
CVE-2021-22947 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting haxx curl. It was published on September 29, 2021 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.9 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2021-22947?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.9, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2021-22947?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from haxx. Update curl to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2021-22947?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2021-22947 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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