# CVE-2021-36779: Host operations allowed in privileged Longhorn managed pods

> Attackers can execute arbitrary binaries on the host without authentication from any cluster workload, requiring an upgrade to secure the storage manager.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Dec 2021
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024

## What is CVE-2021-36779?

CVE-2021-36779 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in SUSE Longhorn, published on 17 Dec 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A Missing Authentication for Critical Function vulnerability in SUSE Longhorn allows any workload in the cluster to execute any binary present in the image on the host without authentication. This issue affects: SUSE Longhorn longhorn versions prior to 1.1.3; longhorn versions prior to 1.2.3.

Weakness: CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-36779?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linuxfoundation Longhorn.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-36779?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-36779 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-36779 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36779 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in SUSE Longhorn

- [CVE-2021-36780](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36780/): Unauthorized data access from replicas through vulnerable instance manager pods (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-36779 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-36779 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in SUSE Longhorn, published on 17 Dec 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36779 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: SUSE Longhorn. 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-2021-36779/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36779/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-36779
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36779
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-36779

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36779/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.