What is CVE-2021-42561?

CVE-2021-42561 is a high-severity vulnerability in Mitre Caldera, classified under Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component (Injection). CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2022-01-12.

How severe is CVE-2021-42561?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2021-42561 known to be exploited?

2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Vulnerability in Mitre Caldera

CVE-2021-42561

An issue was discovered in CALDERA 2.8.1. When activated, the Human plugin passes the unsanitized name parameter to a python "os.system" function. This allows attackers to use shell metacharacters (e.g., backticks "``" or dollar parenthesis "$()" ) in order to escape the current command and execute arbitrary shell commands.

EPSS: 0.196 (97.1th 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

Mitre Caldera
N/a — versions n/a

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-74 — Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component (Injection)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

cve@mitre.org (Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC, Release Notes)
cve@mitre.org (Exploit, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-42561?: CVE-2021-42561 is a high-severity vulnerability in Mitre Caldera, classified under Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component (Injection). CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2022-01-12.
How severe is CVE-2021-42561?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2021-42561 known to be exploited?: 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.