CVE-2021-32163: Mosn.io/mosn Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-5vx9-j5cw-47vq
Share
CVSS 9.8
CWE-863 CWE-178
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-32163 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) privilege escalation vulnerability (CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization) affecting Mosn.io/mosn libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves privilege escalation in mosn. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.23.0.

CVE-2021-32163 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-32163
GHSA Identifier GHSA-5vx9-j5cw-47vq
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization
Affected Product Mosn.io/mosn
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-32163

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Mosn.io/mosn dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

mosn.io/mosn fixed: 0.23.0 
Upgrade mosn.io/mosn to 0.23.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for mosn.io/mosn

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-32163, inspect your project dependencies for Mosn.io/mosn:

inspect dependencies for mosn.io/mosn

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Mosn.io/mosn in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.23.0), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization, where the product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check. In Mosn.io/mosn, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Authentication vulnerability in MOSN before v.0.23.0 allows attacker to escalate privileges via case-sensitive JWT authorization.

CVE-2021-32163 Affected Mosn.io/mosn Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.23.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
mosn.io/mosn
golang/mosn.io/mosn
Go
< 0.23.0
0.23.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-32163 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32163
Mosn.io/mosn Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/mosn/mosn/issues/1633
Mosn.io/mosn Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/mosn/mosn/pull/1637
Mosn.io/mosn Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/mosn/mosn

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-32163?
CVE-2021-32163 is a security vulnerability in Mosn.io/mosn involving Privilege escalation in MOSN under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization.
Which Mosn.io/mosn versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.23.0 across affected packages: mosn.io/mosn.
What version fixes CVE-2021-32163?
Upgrading to 0.23.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is mosn.io/mosn affected?
Yes, mosn.io/mosn is affected in releases prior to 0.23.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.23.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-32163?
CVE-2021-32163 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-32163?
CVE-2021-32163 is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization (The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2021-32163?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for mosn.io/mosn'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-5vx9-j5cw-47vq",
  "modified" : "2023-03-01T01:35:47Z",
  "published" : "2023-02-17T18:30:24Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-32163" ],
  "summary" : "Privilege escalation in MOSN",
  "details" : "Authentication vulnerability in MOSN before v.0.23.0 allows attacker to escalate privileges via case-sensitive JWT authorization.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "mosn.io/mosn"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.23.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32163"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mosn/mosn/issues/1633"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mosn/mosn/pull/1637"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mosn/mosn"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-178", "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-02-17T20:47:37Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-02-17T18:15:00Z"
  }
}