HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2021-42381
HIGH

CVE-2021-42381

CWE-416Published: November 15, 2021· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

7.2
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

A use-after-free in Busybox's awk applet leads to denial of service and possibly code execution when processing a crafted awk pattern in the hash_init function

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2021-42381 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

Exploitation requires high privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.2.

From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-416): Use-after-free vulnerabilities involve accessing memory after it has been freed, often enabling arbitrary code execution.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.High
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

busybox1 product(s)
busybox
Fedora1 product(s)
fedora
Source: NVD CPE · 3 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
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Official Patches & Advisories

All References (11)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2021-42381
CVSS Score7.2 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-416
CISA KEVNo
Affected2 vendor(s)
PublishedNov 15, 2021

Related CVEs (CWE-416)

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2021-42381 in threat intel feeds
  • Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.