CVE-2021-44550: Stanford corenlp Access Control Vulnerability Within CoreNLP Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x2p8-rgfm-qw3v
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-44550 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) access control vulnerability within corenlp vulnerability (CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization) affecting Stanford corenlp libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves access control vulnerability within corenlp. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.4.0.

CVE-2021-44550 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-44550
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x2p8-rgfm-qw3v
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization
Affected Product Stanford corenlp
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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:H/I:H/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 High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-44550

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

edu.stanford.nlp:stanford-corenlp fixed: 4.4.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>edu.stanford.nlp</groupId>
    <artifactId>stanford-corenlp</artifactId>
    <version>4.4.0</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=edu.stanford.nlp

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-44550, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=edu.stanford.nlp

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Stanford corenlp in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.4.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=edu.stanford.nlp 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 Stanford corenlp, 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

An Incorrect Access Control vulnerability exists in CoreNLP 4.3.2 via the classifier in NERServlet.java (lines 158 and 159).

CVE-2021-44550 Affected Stanford corenlp Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.4.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
edu.stanford.nlp:stanford-corenlp
maven/edu.stanford.nlp/stanford-corenlp
Maven
< 4.4.0
4.4.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-44550 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-44550
Stanford corenlp Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/stanfordnlp/CoreNLP/issues/1222
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/stanfordnlp/CoreNLP/commit/5ee097dbede547023e88f60ed3f430ff09398b87
Stanford corenlp Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/stanfordnlp/CoreNLP

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-44550?
CVE-2021-44550 is a security vulnerability in Stanford corenlp involving Access Control vulnerability within CoreNLP under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization.
Which Stanford corenlp versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.4.0 across affected packages: edu.stanford.nlp:stanford-corenlp.
What version fixes CVE-2021-44550?
Upgrading to 4.4.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is stanford-corenlp affected?
Yes, edu.stanford.nlp:stanford-corenlp is affected in releases prior to 4.4.0. Upgrade your dependency to 4.4.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-44550?
CVE-2021-44550 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-44550?
CVE-2021-44550 is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization (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.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-44550?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=edu.stanford.nlp'. 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-x2p8-rgfm-qw3v",
  "modified" : "2022-03-03T22:07:41Z",
  "published" : "2022-02-25T00:01:07Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-44550" ],
  "summary" : "Access Control vulnerability within CoreNLP",
  "details" : "An Incorrect Access Control vulnerability exists in CoreNLP 4.3.2 via the classifier in NERServlet.java (lines 158 and 159).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "edu.stanford.nlp:stanford-corenlp"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.4.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 4.3.2"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-44550"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/stanfordnlp/CoreNLP/issues/1222"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/stanfordnlp/CoreNLP/commit/5ee097dbede547023e88f60ed3f430ff09398b87"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/stanfordnlp/CoreNLP"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-02-25T22:02:34Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-02-24T15:15:00Z"
  }
}