CVE-2021-43835: Sulu/sulu Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-84px-q68r-2fc9
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CVSS 7.2
CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-43835 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.2) privilege escalation vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Sulu/sulu libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves privilege escalation in the sulu admin panel. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.2.18, 2.3.8, 2.4.0.

CVE-2021-43835 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-43835
GHSA Identifier GHSA-84px-q68r-2fc9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.2
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Sulu/sulu
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.2

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
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-2021-43835

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

sulu/sulu fixed: 2.2.18 
Upgrade sulu/sulu to 2.2.18
sulu/sulu fixed: 2.3.8 
Upgrade sulu/sulu to 2.3.8
sulu/sulu fixed: 2.4.0 
Upgrade sulu/sulu to 2.4.0
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 sulu/sulu

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-43835, inspect your project dependencies for Sulu/sulu:

inspect dependencies for sulu/sulu

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Sulu/sulu in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.2.18), 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-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. In Sulu/sulu, 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

### Impact Impacted are only users which already have access to the admin UI. Over the API it was possible for them to give themselves permissions to areas which they did not already had. This issue was introduced in 2.0.0-RC1 with the new ProfileController putAction. ### Patches The versions have been patched in 2.2.18, 2.3.8 and 2.4.0. ### Workarounds Patching the ProfileController of affected sulu versions yourself by overwriting it. ### References _Are there any links users can visit to find out more?_ Currently not. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [sulu/sulu repo](https://github.com/sulu/sulu/issues) * Email us at [security@sulu.io](mailto:security@sulu.io)

CVE-2021-43835 Affected Sulu/sulu Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.2.182.3.82.4.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
sulu/sulu
 Packagist
≥ 2.0.0
< 2.2.18
2.2.18
sulu/sulu
 Packagist
≥ 2.3.0
< 2.3.8
2.3.8
sulu/sulu
 Packagist
≥ 2.4.0-RC1
< 2.4.0
All 1 versions
2.4.0-RC1
2.4.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/sulu/sulu/security/advisories/GHSA-84px-q68r-2fc9
NVD — CVE-2021-43835 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-43835
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/sulu/sulu/commit/30bf8b5a4f83b6f2171a696011757d095edaa28a
Sulu/sulu Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/sulu/sulu

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-43835?
CVE-2021-43835 is a security vulnerability in Sulu/sulu involving Privilege escalation in the Sulu Admin panel under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Sulu/sulu versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.2.18, 2.3.8, 2.4.0 across affected packages: sulu/sulu.
What version fixes CVE-2021-43835?
Upgrading to 2.2.18, 2.3.8, 2.4.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is sulu/sulu affected?
Yes, sulu/sulu is affected in releases prior to 2.2.18, 2.3.8, 2.4.0. Upgrade your dependency to 2.2.18, 2.3.8, 2.4.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-43835?
CVE-2021-43835 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.2 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-43835?
CVE-2021-43835 is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2021-43835?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for sulu/sulu'. 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-84px-q68r-2fc9",
  "modified" : "2021-12-15T22:27:38Z",
  "published" : "2021-12-15T22:55:16Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-43835" ],
  "summary" : "Privilege escalation in the Sulu Admin panel",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nImpacted are only users which already have access to the admin UI. Over the API it was possible for them to give themselves permissions to areas which they did not already had. This issue was introduced in 2.0.0-RC1 with the new ProfileController putAction.\n\n### Patches\n\nThe versions have been patched in 2.2.18, 2.3.8 and 2.4.0.\n\n### Workarounds\n\nPatching the ProfileController of affected sulu versions yourself by overwriting it.\n\n### References\n\n_Are there any links users can visit to find out more?_\n\nCurrently not.\n\n### For more information\n\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open an issue in [sulu/sulu repo](https://github.com/sulu/sulu/issues)\n* Email us at [security@sulu.io](mailto:security@sulu.io)\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "sulu/sulu"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.2.18"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.2.17"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "sulu/sulu"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.3.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.3.8"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.3.7"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "sulu/sulu"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.4.0-RC1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.4.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "versions" : [ "2.4.0-RC1" ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sulu/sulu/security/advisories/GHSA-84px-q68r-2fc9"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-43835"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sulu/sulu/commit/30bf8b5a4f83b6f2171a696011757d095edaa28a"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/sulu/sulu"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-12-15T22:27:38Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-12-15T20:15:00Z"
  }
}