# CVE-2021-32634: Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Emissary

> An attacker with valid credentials can achieve remote code execution via unsafe deserialization in the Emissary workflow framework.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 21 May 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m5qf-gfmp-7638

## What is CVE-2021-32634?

CVE-2021-32634 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in NationalSecurityAgency emissary, published on 21 May 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Emissary is a distributed, peer-to-peer, data-driven workflow framework. Emissary 6.4.0 is vulnerable to Unsafe Deserialization of post-authenticated requests to the [`WorkSpaceClientEnqueue.action`](https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/emissary/blob/30c54ef16c6eb6ed09604a929939fb9f66868382/src/main/java/emissary/server/mvc/internal/WorkSpaceClientEnqueueAction.java) REST endpoint. This issue may lead to post-auth Remote Code Execution. This issue has been patched in version 6.5.0. As a workaround, one can disable network access to Emissary from untrusted sources.

Weakness: CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-32634?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nsa Emissary.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-32634?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-32634 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-32634 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-32634 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in NationalSecurityAgency emissary

- [CVE-2026-35580](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35580/): Emissary has GitHub Actions Shell Injection via Workflow Inputs (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-35582](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35582/): Emissary has an OS Command Injection via Unvalidated IN_FILE_ENDING / OUT_FILE_ENDING in Executrix (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-32094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32094/): File upload in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-32096](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32096/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-32095](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32095/): Missing authorization in n/a (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-32634 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-32634 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in NationalSecurityAgency emissary, published on 21 May 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-32634 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: NationalSecurityAgency emissary. 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-2021-32634/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32634/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-32634
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32634
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-32634

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32634/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.