CVE-2021-43816 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2021-43816
Vulnerability Scoring

8.0
/10
Very High Risk

Highly exploitable, CVE-2021-43816 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: High
    Exploits require significant effort and special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: High
    High-level privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Changed
    Successful exploitation can impact components beyond the vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2021-43816 Details

Status: Modified

Last updated: 🕕 21 Nov 2024, 06:29 UTC
Originally published on: 🕖 05 Jan 2022, 19:15 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 1050 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

security-advisories@github.com

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVE-2021-43816 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2021-43816: containerd is an open source container runtime. On installations using SELinux, such as EL8 (CentOS, RHEL), Fedora, or SUSE MicroOS, with containerd since v1.5.0-beta.0 as the backing container runtime interface (CRI), an unprivileged pod scheduled to the node may bind mount, via hostPath volume, any privileged, regular file on disk for complete read/write access (sans delete). Such is achieved by placing the in-container location of the hostPath volume mount at either `/etc/hosts`, `/etc/hostname`, or `/etc/resolv.conf`. These locations are being relabeled indiscriminately to match the container process-label which effectively elevates permissions for savvy containers that would not normally be able to access privileged host files. This issue has been resolved in version 1.5.9. Users are advised to upgrade as soon as possible.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2021-43816

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2021-43816 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2021-43816

The exploitability of CVE-2021-43816 is influenced by multiple factors. Security teams should analyze system configurations and apply appropriate countermeasures to mitigate threats.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2021-43816, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2021-43816, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: High
    Exploiting CVE-2021-43816 can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, severely compromising data privacy.
  • Integrity: High
    CVE-2021-43816 could allow unauthorized modifications to data, potentially affecting system reliability and trust.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2021-43816 can disrupt system operations, potentially causing complete denial of service (DoS).

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 0.831% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 82.16% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 17.840000000000003% of others.

CVE-2021-43816 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-281

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:beta0:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:beta0:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:beta2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:beta2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:beta3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:beta3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:beta4:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:beta4:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:rc0:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:rc0:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:containerd:1.5.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:35:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:35:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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