RCE in Composer
CVE-2021-29472
Composer is a dependency manager for PHP. URLs for Mercurial repositories in the root composer.json and package source download URLs are not sanitized correctly. Specifically crafted URL values allow code to be executed in the HgDriver if hg/Mercurial is installed on the system. The impact to Composer users directly is limited as the composer.json file is typically under their own control and source download URLs can only be supplied by third party Composer repositories they explicitly trust to download and execute source code from, e.g. Composer plugins. The main impact is to services passing user input to Composer, including Packagist.org and Private Packagist. This allowed users to trigger remote code execution. The vulnerability has been patched on Packagist.org and Private Packagist within 12h of receiving the initial vulnerability report and based on a review of logs, to the best of our knowledge, was not abused by anyone. Other services/tools using VcsRepository/VcsDriver or derivatives may also be vulnerable and should upgrade their composer/composer dependency immediately. Versions 1.10.22 and 2.0.13 include patches for this issue.
EPSS: 0.047 (90.8th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Affected products
- Composer — versions < 1.10.22, >=2.0,<2.0.13
- Getcomposer Composer
- Debian Debian_linux — versions 9.0, 10.0
- Fedoraproject Fedora — versions 33, 34
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_CONFIRM, Third Party Advisory)
- security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_MISC, Vendor Advisory)
- security-advisories@github.com (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN)
- security-advisories@github.com (mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_FEDORA, vendor-advisory)
- security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_FEDORA, vendor-advisory)
- security-advisories@github.com (Exploit, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2021-29472?
- CVE-2021-29472 is a high-severity vulnerability in Composer, classified under Argument Injection. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2021-04-27.
- How severe is CVE-2021-29472?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2021-29472 known to be exploited?
- 3 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.