HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2021-42561
HIGH

CVE-2021-42561

CWE-74Published: January 12, 2022· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

8.8
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

An issue was discovered in CALDERA 2.8.1. When activated, the Human plugin passes the unsanitized name parameter to a python "os.system" function. This allows attackers to use shell metacharacters (e.g., backticks "``" or dollar parenthesis "$()" ) in order to escape the current command and execute arbitrary shell commands.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2021-42561 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

Exploitation requires low 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 8.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

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

Affected Vendors & Products

mitre1 product(s)
caldera
Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
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Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttps://github.com/DrunkenShells/Disclosures/tree/master/CVE-2021-42561-Command%20Injection%20Via%20the%20Human%20Plugin-MITRE%20Caldera
ADVISORYhttps://github.com/mitre/caldera/releases
ADVISORYhttps://github.com/DrunkenShells/Disclosures/tree/master/CVE-2021-42561-Command%20Injection%20Via%20the%20Human%20Plugin-MITRE%20Caldera
ADVISORYhttps://github.com/mitre/caldera/releases

All References (4)

→
https://github.com/DrunkenShells/Disclosures/tree/master/CVE-2021-42561-Command%20Injection%20Via%20the%20Human%20Plugin-MITRE%20CalderaExploit · Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/mitre/caldera/releasesRelease Notes · Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/DrunkenShells/Disclosures/tree/master/CVE-2021-42561-Command%20Injection%20Via%20the%20Human%20Plugin-MITRE%20CalderaExploit · Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/mitre/caldera/releasesRelease Notes · Third Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2021-42561
CVSS Score8.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-74
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedJan 12, 2022

Related CVEs (CWE-74)

CVE-2023-32314
10.0
CVE-2024-42472
10.0
CVE-2020-26282
10.0
CVE-2023-30547
10.0
CVE-2026-44182
10.0
CVE-2023-1523
10.0

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2021-42561 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.
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