# CVE-2021-36770: Code injection in n/a

> Local attackers can gain privileges by placing a malicious library in the current directory, exploiting a Perl module loading flaw in unusual configurations.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 11 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2021-36770, CLEANSTART-2026-QL50169, DEBIAN-CVE-2021-36770, GHSA-3gfh-9hwx-r3vr, MGASA-2021-0527, OESA-2022-1549, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-36770

## What is CVE-2021-36770?

CVE-2021-36770 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 11 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Encode.pm, as distributed in Perl through 5.34.0, allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse Encode::ConfigLocal library (in the current working directory) that preempts dynamic module loading. Exploitation requires an unusual configuration, and certain 2021 versions of Encode.pm (3.05 through 3.11). This issue occurs because the || operator evaluates @INC in a scalar context, and thus @INC has only an integer value.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-36770?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Fedoraproject Fedora, P5-Encode Project P5-Encode.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-36770?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2021-36770 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36770 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fedoraproject Fedora

- [CVE-2024-4577](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4577/): PHP-CGI OS Command Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-39226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39226/): Grafana Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-5544](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5544/): VMware ESXi and Horizon DaaS OpenSLP Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-4947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4947/): Google Chromium V8 Type Confusion (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-4671](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4671/): Google Chromium Visuals Use-After-Free (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-36770 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-36770 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 11 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36770 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-2021-36770/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36770/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-36770
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36770
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-36770

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36770/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.