CVE-2021-43860
8.2 · HIGHOverview
CVE-2021-43860 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting flatpak flatpak. It was published on January 12, 2022 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.2 (HIGH).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.2, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
Flatpak is a Linux application sandboxing and distribution framework. Prior to versions 1.12.3 and 1.10.6, Flatpak doesn't properly validate that the permissions displayed to the user for an app at install time match the actual permissions granted to the app at runtime, in the case that there's a null byte in the metadata file of an app. Therefore apps can grant themselves permissions without the consent of the user. Flatpak shows permissions to the user during install by reading them from the "xa.metadata" key in the commit metadata. This cannot contain a null terminator, because it is an untrusted GVariant. Flatpak compares these permissions to the *actual* metadata, from the "metadata" file to ensure it wasn't lied to. However, the actual metadata contents are loaded in several places where they are read as simple C-style strings. That means that, if the metadata file includes a null terminator, only the content of the file from *before* the terminator gets compared to xa.metadata.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from flatpak. Update flatpak 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| flatpak | flatpak | >= 0, < 1.10.6 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-43860?
CVE-2021-43860 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting flatpak flatpak. It was published on January 12, 2022 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.2 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2021-43860?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.2, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2021-43860?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from flatpak. Update flatpak 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-2021-43860?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2021-43860 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.
Automated penetration testing that runs continuously, not just quarterly.
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