# CVE-2021-20179: Business logic in pki-core > Attackers with compromised keys can repeatedly renew certificates, threatening data confidentiality and integrity in PKI systems. - **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 15 Mar 2021 - **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-20179, GHSA-q87w-gh3f-77p7, RHSA-2021:0966, RLSA-2021:0966, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-20179, USN-8158-1 ## What is CVE-2021-20179? CVE-2021-20179 is a high-severity vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 15 Mar 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description A flaw was found in pki-core. An attacker who has successfully compromised a key could use this flaw to renew the corresponding certificate over and over again, as long as it is not explicitly revoked. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity. Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-20179? It affects 4 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `jss` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:4.7.3-1.module+el8.3.0+8058+d5cd4219 | | `jss-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:4.7.3-1.module+el8.3.0+8058+d5cd4219 | | `jss-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:4.7.3-1.module+el8.3.0+8058+d5cd4219 | | `jss-javadoc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:4.7.3-1.module+el8.3.0+8058+d5cd4219 | | `ldapjdk` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:4.22.0-1.module+el8.3.0+6784+6e1e4c62 | | `ldapjdk-javadoc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:4.22.0-1.module+el8.3.0+6784+6e1e4c62 | | `pki-base` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-base-java` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-ca` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-core` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-core-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-core-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-kra` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-server` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-symkey` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-symkey-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-tools` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `pki-tools-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `python3-pki` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:10.9.4-3.module+el8.3.0+10353+73f6df5b | | `tomcatjss` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:7.5.0-1.module+el8.3.0+7355+c59bcbd9 | | `ldapjdk` | Rocky Linux:8 | All versions | 0:4.22.0-1.module+el8.4.0+418+b7ae1d4a | Products: Dogtagpki Dogtagpki, Fedoraproject Fedora, Redhat Certificate System, Redhat Enterprise Linux. ## How do I fix CVE-2021-20179? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2021-20179 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-20179 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Fedoraproject Fedora - [CVE-2021-3551](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3551/): Information disclosure in pki-server (high 7.8) - [CVE-2022-2414](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2414/): XML external entity in Dogtag PKI (high 7.5) - [CVE-2018-1080](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1080/): Auth bypass in pki-core (high 7.5) - [CVE-2020-15720](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15720/): Security feature bypass in n/a (medium 6.8) - [CVE-2020-25715](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-25715/): Cross-site scripting in pki-core (medium 6.1) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2021-20179 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2021-20179 is a high-severity vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 15 Mar 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-20179 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Fedoraproject Fedora. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20179/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20179/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-20179 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-20179 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-20179 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20179/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.