CVE-2021-28685: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-xhw8-68ww-6958
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-28685 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2021-28685 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-28685
GHSA Identifier GHSA-xhw8-68ww-6958
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Software
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-2021-28685

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

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

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-28685, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

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

Note: The mvn dependency:tree 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-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. In Software, 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

AsIO2_64.sys and AsIO2_32.sys in ASUS GPUTweak II before 2.3.0.3 allow low-privileged users to interact directly with physical memory (by calling one of several driver routines that map physical memory into the virtual address space of the calling process) and to interact with MSR registers. This could enable low-privileged users to achieve NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM privileges via a DeviceIoControl.

References

NVD — CVE-2021-28685 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-28685
Software Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://gist.github.com/DStraghkov/fba4994ac4bb3a6e2940b21743563df0
Software Security Information SECURITY
https://www.asus.com/Static_WebPage/ASUS-Product-Security-Advisory

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-28685?
CVE-2021-28685 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2021-28685?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-28685?
CVE-2021-28685 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-2021-28685?
CVE-2021-28685 is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-28685?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. 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-xhw8-68ww-6958",
  "modified" : "2022-07-13T00:01:14Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T17:46:54Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-28685" ],
  "details" : "AsIO2_64.sys and AsIO2_32.sys in ASUS GPUTweak II before 2.3.0.3 allow low-privileged users to interact directly with physical memory (by calling one of several driver routines that map physical memory into the virtual address space of the calling process) and to interact with MSR registers. This could enable low-privileged users to achieve NT AUTHORITY\\SYSTEM privileges via a DeviceIoControl.",
  "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" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-28685"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://gist.github.com/DStraghkov/fba4994ac4bb3a6e2940b21743563df0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.asus.com/Static_WebPage/ASUS-Product-Security-Advisory"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-04-08T11:15:00Z"
  }
}