CVE-2021-28490: Csrfguard Cross-Site Request Forgery Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-jx66-5ww9-m6q4
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-352
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-28490 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) cross-site request forgery vulnerability (CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)) affecting Csrfguard libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves cross-site request forgery in owasp csrfguard. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.0.0.

CVE-2021-28490 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-28490
GHSA Identifier GHSA-jx66-5ww9-m6q4
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Affected Product Csrfguard
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

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:R/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 Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-28490

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Csrfguard 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.owasp:csrfguard fixed: 4.0.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.owasp</groupId>
    <artifactId>csrfguard</artifactId>
    <version>4.0.0</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.owasp

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-28490, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.owasp

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Csrfguard in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.owasp 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-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), where the web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor. In Csrfguard, 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

In OWASP CSRFGuard through 3.1.0, CSRF can occur because the CSRF cookie may be retrieved by using only a session token.

CVE-2021-28490 Affected Csrfguard Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.owasp:csrfguard
maven/org.owasp/csrfguard
Maven
< 4.0.0
4.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-28490 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-28490
Csrfguard Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/OWASP/www-project-csrfguard
Csrfguard Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/reidmefirst/vuln-disclosure/blob/main/2021-01.txt
owasp.org/www-project-csrfgua... WEB
https://owasp.org/www-project-csrfguard

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-28490?
CVE-2021-28490 is a security vulnerability in Csrfguard involving Cross-Site Request Forgery in OWASP CSRFGuard under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).
Which Csrfguard versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.0.0 across affected packages: org.owasp:csrfguard.
What version fixes CVE-2021-28490?
Upgrading to 4.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is csrfguard affected?
Yes, org.owasp:csrfguard is affected in releases prior to 4.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 4.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-28490?
CVE-2021-28490 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-28490?
CVE-2021-28490 is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (The web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-28490?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.owasp'. 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-jx66-5ww9-m6q4",
  "modified" : "2022-06-21T20:13:38Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T19:11:39Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-28490" ],
  "summary" : "Cross-Site Request Forgery in OWASP CSRFGuard",
  "details" : "In OWASP CSRFGuard through 3.1.0, CSRF can occur because the CSRF cookie may be retrieved by using only a session token.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.owasp:csrfguard"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.0.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 3.1.0"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-28490"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/OWASP/www-project-csrfguard"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/reidmefirst/vuln-disclosure/blob/main/2021-01.txt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://owasp.org/www-project-csrfguard"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-352" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-06-21T20:13:38Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-08-19T19:15:00Z"
  }
}