CVE-2021-29621: Flask AppBuilder Observable Response Discrepancy Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-434h-p4gx-jm89
CVSS 5.3
CWE-203
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-29621 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) observable response discrepancy vulnerability (CWE-203: Observable Discrepancy) affecting Flask AppBuilder libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves observable response discrepancy in flask-appbuilder. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.3.0.

CVE-2021-29621 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-29621
GHSA Identifier GHSA-434h-p4gx-jm89
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-203: Observable Discrepancy
Affected Product Flask AppBuilder
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

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:L/I:N/A:N).

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 Low (C:L)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2021-29621

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

Flask-AppBuilder fixed: 3.3.0
pip install Flask-AppBuilder>=3.3.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

pip show Flask-AppBuilder

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2021-29621, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show Flask-AppBuilder

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Flask AppBuilder in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.3.0), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show Flask-AppBuilder command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-203: Observable Discrepancy, where the product behaves differently or sends different responses under different circumstances in a way that is observable to an unauthorized actor. In Flask AppBuilder, 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

### Impact User enumeration in database authentication in Flask-AppBuilder <= 3.2.3. Allows for a non authenticated user to enumerate existing accounts by timing the response time from the server when you are logging in. ### Patches Upgrade to 3.3.0 ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [Flask-AppBuilder](https://github.com/dpgaspar/Flask-AppBuilder)

CVE-2021-29621 Affected Flask AppBuilder Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.3.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
Flask-AppBuilder
PyPI
< 3.3.0
3.3.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/dpgaspar/Flask-AppBuilder/security/advisories/GHSA-434h-p4gx-jm89
NVD — CVE-2021-29621 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29621
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/dpgaspar/Flask-AppBuilder/commit/780bd0e8fbf2d36ada52edb769477e0a4edae580
Flask AppBuilder Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/dpgaspar/Flask-AppBuilder
Flask AppBuilder Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/flask-appbuilder/PYSEC-2021-90.yaml
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r466759... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r466759f377651f0a690475d5a52564d0e786e82c08d5a5730a4f8352%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r466759... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r466759f377651f0a690475d5a52564d0e786e82c08d5a5730a4f8352@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r5b7541... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r5b754118ba4e996adf03863705d34168bffec202da5c6bdc9bf3add5%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r5b7541... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r5b754118ba4e996adf03863705d34168bffec202da5c6bdc9bf3add5@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r91067f... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r91067f953906d93aaa1c69fe2b5472754019cc6bd4f1ba81349d62a0%40%3Ccommits.airflow.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r91067f... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r91067f953906d93aaa1c69fe2b5472754019cc6bd4f1ba81349d62a0@%3Ccommits.airflow.apache.org%3E
pypi.org/project/flask-appbu... WEB
https://pypi.org/project/Flask-AppBuilder

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-29621?
CVE-2021-29621 is a security vulnerability in Flask AppBuilder involving Observable Response Discrepancy in Flask-AppBuilder under CWE-203: Observable Discrepancy.
Which Flask AppBuilder versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.3.0 across affected packages: Flask-AppBuilder.
What version fixes CVE-2021-29621?
Upgrading to 3.3.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is Flask-AppBuilder affected?
Yes, Flask-AppBuilder is affected in releases prior to 3.3.0. Upgrade your dependency to 3.3.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-29621?
CVE-2021-29621 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-29621?
CVE-2021-29621 is classified under CWE-203: Observable Discrepancy (The product behaves differently or sends different responses under different circumstances in a way that is observable to an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2021-29621?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show Flask-AppBuilder'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-434h-p4gx-jm89",
  "modified" : "2025-03-07T19:08:59Z",
  "published" : "2021-05-27T18:38:36Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-29621" ],
  "summary" : "Observable Response Discrepancy in Flask-AppBuilder",
  "details" : "### Impact\nUser enumeration in database authentication in Flask-AppBuilder <= 3.2.3. Allows for a non authenticated user to enumerate existing accounts by timing the response time from the server when you are logging in.\n\n### Patches\nUpgrade to 3.3.0\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open an issue in [Flask-AppBuilder](https://github.com/dpgaspar/Flask-AppBuilder)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "Flask-AppBuilder"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.3.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dpgaspar/Flask-AppBuilder/security/advisories/GHSA-434h-p4gx-jm89"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29621"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dpgaspar/Flask-AppBuilder/commit/780bd0e8fbf2d36ada52edb769477e0a4edae580"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dpgaspar/Flask-AppBuilder"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/flask-appbuilder/PYSEC-2021-90.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r466759f377651f0a690475d5a52564d0e786e82c08d5a5730a4f8352%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r466759f377651f0a690475d5a52564d0e786e82c08d5a5730a4f8352@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r5b754118ba4e996adf03863705d34168bffec202da5c6bdc9bf3add5%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r5b754118ba4e996adf03863705d34168bffec202da5c6bdc9bf3add5@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r91067f953906d93aaa1c69fe2b5472754019cc6bd4f1ba81349d62a0%40%3Ccommits.airflow.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r91067f953906d93aaa1c69fe2b5472754019cc6bd4f1ba81349d62a0@%3Ccommits.airflow.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pypi.org/project/Flask-AppBuilder"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-203" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-05-25T20:21:31Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-06-07T19:15:00Z"
  }
}