CVE-2021-21363: Generator Web Application Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability Vulnerability
LOWCVE-2021-21363 is a LOW (CVSS 9.3) local privilege escalation vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-379: Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions) affecting Generator Web Application libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves local privilege escalation vulnerability via system temp directory. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.4.19.
CVE-2021-21363 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 9.3
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
How to Fix CVE-2021-21363
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Generator Web Application 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>io.swagger</groupId>
<artifactId>swagger-codegen</artifactId>
<version>2.4.19</version>
</dependency>
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.swagger
How to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-21363, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.swagger
Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Generator Web Application in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.4.19), your application is affected.
Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=io.swagger 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-379: Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions, where the product creates a temporary file in a directory whose permissions allow unintended actors to determine the file's existence or otherwise access that file. In Generator Web Application, 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-2021-21363 Affected Generator Web Application Versions
1 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
io.swagger:swagger-codegen
|
Maven |
< 2.4.19
|
2.4.19
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-21363?
Which Generator Web Application versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2021-21363?
Is swagger-codegen affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-21363?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-21363?
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-21363?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-pc22-3g76-gm6j",
"modified" : "2021-03-22T23:45:20Z",
"published" : "2021-03-11T03:09:16Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-21363" ],
"summary" : "Generator Web Application: Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability via System Temp Directory",
"details" : "### Impact\n\nOn Unix like systems, the system's temporary directory is shared between all users on that system. A collocated user can observe the process of creating a temporary sub directory in the shared temporary directory and race to complete the creation of the temporary subdirectory. \n\nThis vulnerability is local privilege escalation because the contents of the `outputFolder` can be appended to by an attacker. As such, code written to this directory, when executed can be attacker controlled.\n\n#### Java Code\n\nThe method `File.createTempFile` from the JDK is vulnerable to this local information disclosure vulnerability.\n\nhttps://github.com/swagger-api/swagger-codegen/blob/068b1ebcb7b04a48ad38f1cadd24bb3810c9f1ab/modules/swagger-generator/src/main/java/io/swagger/generator/online/Generator.java#L174-L185\n\n\n### Patches\n\nFix has been applied to the master branch with:\n\n* https://github.com/swagger-api/swagger-codegen/commit/987ea7a30b463cc239580d6ad166c707ae942a89\n\nincluded in release: 2.4.19\n\n\n### References\n\n* [CWE-378: Creation of Temporary File With Insecure Permissions](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/378.html)\n* [CWE-379: Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/379.html)\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n\n* Email us at [security@swagger.io](mailto:security@swagger.io)\n\n#### Original vulnerability report\n\n> I'm performing OSS security research under the GitHub Security Lab Bug Bounty program.\n> I've been using a custom CodeQL query to find local temporary directory vulnerabilities in OSS with three custom CodeQL queries.\n> \n> - https://github.com/github/codeql/pull/4388/files#diff-71d36c0f2bd0b08e32866f873f1c906cdc17277e0ad327c0c6cd2c882f30de4f\n> - https://github.com/github/codeql/pull/4388/files#diff-1893a18a8bf43c011d61a7889d0139b998a5a78701a30fe7722eddd4c506aaac\n> - https://github.com/github/codeql/pull/4473\n> \n> The code generated by the Swagger Generator contains a local information disclosure vulnerability. The system temporary directory, on unix-like systems is shared between multiple users. Information written to this directory, or directories created under this directory that do not correctly set the posix standard permissions can have these directories read/modified by other users.\n> \n> ---\n> \n> This vulnerability exists in the maven plugin.\n> \n> This vulnerability is distinctly different. This vulnerability is most likely a local privilege escalation vulnerability.\n> \n> https://github.com/swagger-api/swagger-codegen/blob/068b1ebcb7b04a48ad38f1cadd24bb3810c9f1ab/modules/swagger-generator/src/main/java/io/swagger/generator/online/Generator.java#L174-L185\n> \n> This vulnerability is very similar to this similar vulnerability I disclosed in the Eclipse Jetty project.\n> \n> https://github.com/eclipse/jetty.project/security/advisories/GHSA-g3wg-6mcf-8jj6\n> \n> This is due to a race condition between the call to `delete` and the call to `mkdirs`.\n> \n> ```java\n> // ensure file will always be unique by appending random digits\n> File outputFolder = File.createTempFile(\"codegen-\", \"-tmp\"); // Attacker knows the full path of the file that will be generated\n> // delete the file that was created\n> outputFolder.delete(); // Attacker sees file is deleted and begins a race to create their own directory before Swagger Code Generator.\n> // and make a directory of the same name\n> // SECURITY VULNERABILITY: Race Condition! - Attacker beats Swagger Code Generator and now owns this directory\n> outputFolder.mkdirs();\n> ```\n> \n> This vulnerability is local privilege escalation because the contents of the `outputFolder` can be appended to by an attacker. As such, code written to this directory, when executed can be attacker controlled.\n> \n> The fix here is to switch to the `Files` API for creating temporary directories. Which does not contain this race condition, and appropriately sets the correct file permissions.\n> ",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Maven",
"name" : "io.swagger:swagger-codegen"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "2.4.19"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/swagger-api/swagger-codegen/security/advisories/GHSA-pc22-3g76-gm6j"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21363"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/swagger-api/swagger-codegen/commit/987ea7a30b463cc239580d6ad166c707ae942a89"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-378", "CWE-379" ],
"severity" : "LOW",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2021-03-11T03:07:41Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2021-03-11T03:15:00Z"
}
}