# CVE-2021-3698: Security feature bypass in cockpit

> Cockpit fails to enforce Certificate Revocation List checks, allowing revoked client certificates to authenticate successfully and bypass security controls.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Mar 2022
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-3698, GHSA-w9ph-5m4x-c49r, MGASA-2022-0202, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-3698

## What is CVE-2021-3698?

CVE-2021-3698 is a high-severity vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux, published on 8 Mar 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in Cockpit in versions prior to 260 in the way it handles the certificate verification performed by the System Security Services Daemon (SSSD). This flaw allows client certificates to authenticate successfully, regardless of the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) configuration or the certificate status. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality.

Weakness: CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-3698?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Cockpit-Project Cockpit, Redhat Enterprise Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-3698?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2021-3698 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3698 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Redhat Enterprise Linux

- [CVE-2019-3804](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3804/): Denial of service in cockpit (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2020-35850](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-35850/): Server-side request forgery in n/a (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2021-3660](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3660/): Cross-site request forgery in cockpit (medium 4.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-3698 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-3698 is a high-severity vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux, published on 8 Mar 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3698 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Redhat Enterprise Linux. 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-2021-3698/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3698/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-3698
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3698
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-3698

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3698/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.