CVE-2021-41189: Dspace api Communities And Collections Administrators Can Vulnerability
HIGHCVE-2021-41189 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.2) communities and collections administrators can vulnerability (CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization) affecting Dspace api libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves communities and collections administrators can escalate their privilege up to system administrator. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 7.1.
CVE-2021-41189 at a Glance
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).
How to Fix CVE-2021-41189
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Dspace api dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
<dependency>
<groupId>org.dspace</groupId>
<artifactId>dspace-api</artifactId>
<version>7.1</version>
</dependency>Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.dspaceHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-41189, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.dspaceAnalyze the terminal output to locate any version of Dspace api in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 7.1), your application is affected.
Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.dspace 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-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 Dspace api, 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
CVE-2021-41189 Affected Dspace api Versions
1 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
org.dspace:dspace-api
|
Maven |
≥ 7.0
< 7.1
|
7.1
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-41189?
Which Dspace api versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2021-41189?
Is dspace-api affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-41189?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-41189?
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-41189?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-cf2j-vf36-c6w8",
"modified" : "2021-10-29T17:26:35Z",
"published" : "2021-11-01T19:18:16Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-41189" ],
"summary" : "Communities and collections administrators can escalate their privilege up to system administrator",
"details" : "### Impact\nAny community or collection administrator can escalate their permission up to become system administrator.\n\nThis vulnerability only existed in 7.0 and does not impact 6.x or below.\n\n### Patches\nFix is included in [7.1](https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/releases/tag/dspace-7.1). Please upgrade to 7.1 at your earliest convenience.\n\n### Workarounds\nIn 7.0, temporarily disable the ability for community or collection administrators to manage permissions or workflows settings, i.e. set the following properties in your local.cfg / dspace.cfg file\n```\ncore.authorization.collection-admin.policies = false\ncore.authorization.community-admin.policies = false\ncore.authorization.community-admin.collection.workflows = false\n```\nOnce upgraded to 7.1, these settings can be safely reverted to the default values of `true`.\n\n### References\nDiscovered during investigation of https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/issues/7928\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Email us at security@dspace.org\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" : "Maven",
"name" : "org.dspace:dspace-api"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "7.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "7.1"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/security/advisories/GHSA-cf2j-vf36-c6w8"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41189"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/issues/7928"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/commit/277b499a5cd3a4f5eb2370513a1b7e4ec2a6e041"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/commit/c3bea16ab911606e15ae96c97a1575e1ffb14f8a"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-863" ],
"severity" : "HIGH",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2021-10-29T17:26:35Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2021-10-29T18:15:00Z"
}
}