CVE-2021-46848: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6468-68pw-9chw
CVSS 9.1
CWE-125 CWE-193
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-46848 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.1) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2021-46848 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-46848
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6468-68pw-9chw
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.1
CWE Classification CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.1

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:N/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 None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-46848

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

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-46848, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

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

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read, where the product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. In Software, 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

GNU Libtasn1 before 4.19.0 has an ETYPE_OK off-by-one array size check that affects asn1_encode_simple_der.

References

NVD — CVE-2021-46848 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-46848
bugs.gentoo.org/866237 WEB
https://bugs.gentoo.org/866237
cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-398330.html
gitlab.com/gnutls/libtasn1/-/c... WEB
https://gitlab.com/gnutls/libtasn1/-/commit/44a700d2051a666235748970c2df047ff207aeb5
gitlab.com/gnutls/libtasn1/-/i... WEB
https://gitlab.com/gnutls/libtasn1/-/issues/32
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/01/msg00003.html
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/AV4SHDJF2XLB4CUPTBPQQ6CLGZ5LKXPZ
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ECM2ELTVRYV4BZ5L5GMIRQE27RFHPAQ6
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OGO7XST4EIJGX4B2ITZCYSWM24534BSU
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/V5LWOGF7QRMNFRUCZY6TDYQJVFI6MOQ2
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/AV4SHDJF2XLB4CUPTBPQQ6CLGZ5LKXPZ
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ECM2ELTVRYV4BZ5L5GMIRQE27RFHPAQ6
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OGO7XST4EIJGX4B2ITZCYSWM24534BSU
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/V5LWOGF7QRMNFRUCZY6TDYQJVFI6MOQ2
Software Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20221118-0006

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-46848?
CVE-2021-46848 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2021-46848?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-46848?
CVE-2021-46848 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-46848?
CVE-2021-46848 is classified under CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read (The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-46848?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-6468-68pw-9chw",
  "modified" : "2026-10-14T15:31:17Z",
  "published" : "2022-10-24T19:00:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-46848" ],
  "details" : "GNU Libtasn1 before 4.19.0 has an ETYPE_OK off-by-one array size check that affects asn1_encode_simple_der.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-398330.html"
  }, {
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  }, {
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    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ECM2ELTVRYV4BZ5L5GMIRQE27RFHPAQ6"
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    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OGO7XST4EIJGX4B2ITZCYSWM24534BSU"
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  }, {
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    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/AV4SHDJF2XLB4CUPTBPQQ6CLGZ5LKXPZ"
  }, {
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    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ECM2ELTVRYV4BZ5L5GMIRQE27RFHPAQ6"
  }, {
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    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OGO7XST4EIJGX4B2ITZCYSWM24534BSU"
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    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/V5LWOGF7QRMNFRUCZY6TDYQJVFI6MOQ2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20221118-0006"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-125", "CWE-193" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-10-24T14:15:00Z"
  }
}