CVE-2021-42382
A use-after-free in Busybox's awk applet leads to denial of service and possibly code execution when processing a crafted awk pattern in the getvar_s function
02 Description
A use-after-free in Busybox's awk applet leads to denial of service and possibly code execution when processing a crafted awk pattern in the getvar_s function
03 Exploitation and scoring
- Exploitation
- Assessed, none found. CISA's assessment recorded neither public exploit code nor evidence of exploitation when it was made.
- SSVC decision
- ExploitationnoneCISA recorded no public exploit code and no evidence of exploitation.
- AutomatablenoAt least one step from reconnaissance to exploitation cannot be reliably automated.
- Technical ImpacttotalSuccessful exploitation gives total control of the vulnerable component.
- EPSS probability
- 2.75% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
- EPSS percentile
- Equal to or higher than the score of 86.1% of scored records. A rank, not a probability.
- NVD base score
- 7.2 (CVSS v3.x), scored by the NVD independently of the CNA.
- NVD CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- NVD analysis status
- Modified. NVD last modified this record on 2026-06-17.
- Red Hat severity
- Moderate. Red Hat's rating for its own products, not a CVSS rating.
Exploit-prediction scores from FIRST. Independent scoring and analysis status from the NVD. Vendor severity from Red Hat. Exploitation assessment and catalog membership from CISA.
04 Metadata
- Published
- 2021-11-15 00:00Z4 YR AGO
- Last updated
- 2025-11-03 20:34Z11 MO AGO
- Reserved
- 2021-10-14
- Assigning CNA
- JFROG
- Record state
- PUBLISHED
- Severity
- High (CVSS 7.2)
- CNA CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Weaknesses
- CWE-416Use After FreeVariant
- Data version
- 5.2
- Document digest
- 828605c86d4ea4e63e3482ac14ce6fd6e730918a7d1dbd980e388a7bb435995e
05 Affected products
06 References
- jfrog.comhttps://jfrog.com/blog/unboxing-busybox-14-new-vulnerabilities-uncovered-by-claroty-and-jfrog/
- lists.fedoraproject.orgFEDORA-2021-5a95823596https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/UQXGOGWBIYWOIVXJVRKHZR34UMEHQBXS/
- lists.fedoraproject.orgFEDORA-2021-c52c0fe490https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6T2TURBYYJGBMQTTN2DSOAIQGP7WCPGV/
- security.netapp.comhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211223-0002/
- claroty.comhttps://claroty.com/team82/research/unboxing-busybox-14-vulnerabilities-uncovered-by-claroty-jfrog
- lists.debian.orghttps://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/01/msg00012.html
07 Fixed in
Arch Linux
- busybox Fixed in 1.34.1-1
- mkinitcpio-busybox Fixed in 1.34.1-1
Source: Arch Linux Security Tracker, the Arch Linux security team. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Debian 12
- busybox Fixed in 1:1.35.0-1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Debian 13
- busybox Fixed in 1:1.35.0-1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Debian 14
- busybox Fixed in 1:1.35.0-1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
- busybox Fixed in 1:1.27.2-2ubuntu3.4
Source: Ubuntu, Canonical Ltd. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
- busybox Fixed in 1:1.30.1-4ubuntu6.4
Source: Ubuntu, Canonical Ltd. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
- busybox Fixed in 1:1.30.1-7ubuntu2
Source: Ubuntu, Canonical Ltd. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS
- busybox No fix yet
Source: Ubuntu, Canonical Ltd. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS
- busybox No fix yet
Source: Ubuntu, Canonical Ltd. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
A release or ecosystem missing from this list has no record here. It may be unaffected or not covered by the source. Source notices and licences.