Privilege escalation in Oracle Openjdk

CVE-2021-20264

An insecure modification flaw in the /etc/passwd file was found in the openjdk-1.8 and openjdk-11 containers. This flaw allows an attacker with access to the container to modify the /etc/passwd and escalate their privileges. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity, as well as system availability.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (17.3th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 17th percentile — 17.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2021-20264: held from 0.003 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000

Affected products

  • Oracle Openjdk — versions 1.8.0, 11
  • Containers/openjdk — versions openjdk 1.8

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-20264?
CVE-2021-20264 is a high-severity vulnerability in Oracle Openjdk, classified under Incorrect Privilege Assignment. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2021-10-06.
How severe is CVE-2021-20264?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.