CVE-2021-45082: Cobbler Command Injection Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6cm4-gm85-972c
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-77
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-45082 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) command injection vulnerability (CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')) affecting Cobbler libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves command injection in cobbler. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.3.1.

CVE-2021-45082 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-45082
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6cm4-gm85-972c
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
Affected Product Cobbler
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

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

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
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-2021-45082

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

cobbler fixed: 3.3.1 
pip install cobbler>=3.3.1
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

pip show cobbler

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2021-45082, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show cobbler

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Cobbler in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.3.1), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show cobbler command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component. In Cobbler, 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

An issue was discovered in Cobbler through 3.3.0. In the templar.py file, the function check_for_invalid_imports can allow Cheetah code to import Python modules via the "#from MODULE import" substring. (Only lines beginning with #import are blocked.)

CVE-2021-45082 Affected Cobbler Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.3.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
cobbler
pypi/cobbler
PyPI
< 3.3.1
3.3.1

References

NVD — CVE-2021-45082 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-45082
Cobbler Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/cobbler/cobbler/pull/2945
bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1193678
Cobbler Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/cobbler/cobbler
Cobbler Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/cobbler/cobbler/releases
Cobbler Release RELEASE
https://github.com/cobbler/cobbler/releases/tag/v3.3.1
Cobbler Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/cobbler/PYSEC-2022-37.yaml
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TEJN7CPW6YCHBFQPFZKGA6AVA6T5NPIW
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/Z5CSXQE7Q4TVDQJKFYBO4XDH3BZ7BLAR
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZCXMOUW4DH4DYWIJN44SMSU6R3CZDZBE

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-45082?
CVE-2021-45082 is a security vulnerability in Cobbler involving Command Injection in Cobbler under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection').
Which Cobbler versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.3.1 across affected packages: cobbler.
What version fixes CVE-2021-45082?
Upgrading to 3.3.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is cobbler affected?
Yes, cobbler is affected in releases prior to 3.3.1. Upgrade your dependency to 3.3.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-45082?
CVE-2021-45082 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-45082?
CVE-2021-45082 is classified under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2021-45082?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show cobbler'. 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-6cm4-gm85-972c",
  "modified" : "2024-09-06T15:47:48Z",
  "published" : "2022-02-20T00:00:35Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-45082" ],
  "summary" : "Command Injection in Cobbler",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in Cobbler through 3.3.0. In the templar.py file, the function check_for_invalid_imports can allow Cheetah code to import Python modules via the \"#from MODULE import\" substring. (Only lines beginning with #import are blocked.)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "cobbler"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.3.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-45082"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cobbler/cobbler/pull/2945"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1193678"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cobbler/cobbler"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cobbler/cobbler/releases"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cobbler/cobbler/releases/tag/v3.3.1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/cobbler/PYSEC-2022-37.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TEJN7CPW6YCHBFQPFZKGA6AVA6T5NPIW"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/Z5CSXQE7Q4TVDQJKFYBO4XDH3BZ7BLAR"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZCXMOUW4DH4DYWIJN44SMSU6R3CZDZBE"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-77" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-03-08T18:48:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-02-19T00:15:00Z"
  }
}