CVE-2021-3717: Wildfly core parent Wildfly-Core User Account Mismanagement Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-p9xf-3rm3-qh2h
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-552
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-3717 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) wildfly-core user account mismanagement vulnerability (CWE-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties) affecting Wildfly core parent libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves wildfly-core user account mismanagement. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 17.0.

CVE-2021-3717 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-3717
GHSA Identifier GHSA-p9xf-3rm3-qh2h
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties
Affected Product Wildfly core parent
Package Ecosystem Maven
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-2021-3717

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

org.wildfly.core:wildfly-core-parent fixed: 17.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.wildfly.core</groupId>
    <artifactId>wildfly-core-parent</artifactId>
    <version>17.0</version>
</dependency>
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 -Dincludes=org.wildfly.core

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-3717, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.wildfly.core

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Wildfly core parent in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 17.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.wildfly.core 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-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties, where the product makes files or directories accessible to unauthorized actors, even though they should not be. In Wildfly core parent, 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

A flaw was found in Wildfly. An incorrect JBOSS_LOCAL_USER challenge location when using the elytron configuration may lead to JBOSS_LOCAL_USER access to all users on the machine. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This flaw affects wildfly-core versions prior to 17.0.

CVE-2021-3717 Affected Wildfly core parent Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
17.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.wildfly.core:wildfly-core-parent
maven/org.wildfly.core/wildfly-core-parent
Maven
< 17.0
17.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-3717 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3717
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1991305
Wildfly core parent Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220804-0002

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-3717?
CVE-2021-3717 is a security vulnerability in Wildfly core parent involving Wildfly-Core user account mismanagement under CWE-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties.
Which Wildfly core parent versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 17.0 across affected packages: org.wildfly.core:wildfly-core-parent.
What version fixes CVE-2021-3717?
Upgrading to 17.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is wildfly-core-parent affected?
Yes, org.wildfly.core:wildfly-core-parent is affected in releases prior to 17.0. Upgrade your dependency to 17.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-3717?
CVE-2021-3717 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-2021-3717?
CVE-2021-3717 is classified under CWE-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties (The product makes files or directories accessible to unauthorized actors, even though they should not be.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-3717?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.wildfly.core'. 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-p9xf-3rm3-qh2h",
  "modified" : "2022-08-11T13:22:17Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-25T00:00:22Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-3717" ],
  "summary" : "Wildfly-Core user account mismanagement",
  "details" : "A flaw was found in Wildfly. An incorrect JBOSS_LOCAL_USER challenge location when using the elytron configuration may lead to JBOSS_LOCAL_USER access to all users on the machine. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This flaw affects wildfly-core versions prior to 17.0.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.wildfly.core:wildfly-core-parent"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "17.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3717"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1991305"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220804-0002"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-552" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-06-16T23:22:01Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-05-24T19:15:00Z"
  }
}