CVE-2021-41500: Cvxopt Incorrect Comparison Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-8rh6-h94m-vj54
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-697
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-41500 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) incorrect comparison vulnerability (CWE-697: Incorrect Comparison) affecting Cvxopt libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves incorrect comparison in cvxopt. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.2.7.

CVE-2021-41500 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-41500
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8rh6-h94m-vj54
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-697: Incorrect Comparison
Affected Product Cvxopt
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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

How to Fix CVE-2021-41500

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

cvxopt fixed: 1.2.7 
pip install cvxopt>=1.2.7
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 cvxopt

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2021-41500, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show cvxopt

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Cvxopt in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.2.7), your application is affected.

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

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-697: Incorrect Comparison, where the product compares two entities in a security-relevant context, but the comparison is incorrect. In Cvxopt, 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

Incomplete string comparison vulnerability exits in cvxopt.org cvxop <= 1.2.6 in APIs (cvxopt.cholmod.diag, cvxopt.cholmod.getfactor, cvxopt.cholmod.solve, cvxopt.cholmod.spsolve), which allows attackers to conduct Denial of Service attacks by construct fake Capsule objects.

CVE-2021-41500 Affected Cvxopt Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.2.7
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
cvxopt
pypi/cvxopt
PyPI
< 1.2.7
1.2.7

References

NVD — CVE-2021-41500 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41500
Cvxopt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/cvxopt/cvxopt/issues/193
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/cvxopt/cvxopt/commit/d5a21cf1da62e4269176384b1ff62edac5579f94
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-8rh6-h94m-vj54
Cvxopt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/cvxopt/cvxopt
Cvxopt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/cvxopt/PYSEC-2021-870.yaml
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/CXTPM3DGVYTYQ54OFCMXZVWVOMR7JM2D

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-41500?
CVE-2021-41500 is a security vulnerability in Cvxopt involving Incorrect Comparison in cvxopt under CWE-697: Incorrect Comparison.
Which Cvxopt versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.2.7 across affected packages: cvxopt.
What version fixes CVE-2021-41500?
Upgrading to 1.2.7 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is cvxopt affected?
Yes, cvxopt is affected in releases prior to 1.2.7. Upgrade your dependency to 1.2.7 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-41500?
CVE-2021-41500 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-41500?
CVE-2021-41500 is classified under CWE-697: Incorrect Comparison (The product compares two entities in a security-relevant context, but the comparison is incorrect.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2021-41500?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show cvxopt'. 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-8rh6-h94m-vj54",
  "modified" : "2024-09-13T20:07:10Z",
  "published" : "2022-01-07T00:01:11Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-41500" ],
  "summary" : "Incorrect Comparison in cvxopt",
  "details" : "Incomplete string comparison vulnerability exits in cvxopt.org cvxop <= 1.2.6 in APIs (cvxopt.cholmod.diag, cvxopt.cholmod.getfactor, cvxopt.cholmod.solve, cvxopt.cholmod.spsolve), which allows attackers to conduct Denial of Service attacks by construct fake Capsule objects.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "cvxopt"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.2.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41500"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cvxopt/cvxopt/issues/193"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cvxopt/cvxopt/commit/d5a21cf1da62e4269176384b1ff62edac5579f94"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-8rh6-h94m-vj54"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cvxopt/cvxopt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/cvxopt/PYSEC-2021-870.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/CXTPM3DGVYTYQ54OFCMXZVWVOMR7JM2D"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-697" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-01-04T16:55:20Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-12-17T21:15:00Z"
  }
}