# CVE-2021-40348: Code injection in n/a

> An attacker can inject arbitrary code into a root-owned file via the rhn-config-satellite.pl script, leading to code execution and privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Nov 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-h847-jmmj-x7rc, SUSE-SU-2021:3562-1

## What is CVE-2021-40348?

CVE-2021-40348 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 1 Nov 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Spacewalk 2.10, and derivatives such as Uyuni 2021.08, allows code injection. rhn-config-satellite.pl doesn't sanitize the configuration filename used to append Spacewalk-specific key-value pair. The script is intended to be run by the tomcat user account with Sudo, according to the installation setup. This can lead to the ability of an attacker to use --option to append arbitrary code to a root-owned file that eventually will be executed by the system. This is fixed in Uyuni spacewalk-admin 4.3.2-1.

Weakness: CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-40348?

It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `spacewalk-admin` | SUSE:Manager Server Module 4.1 | All versions | 4.1.10-3.15.1 |

Products: Spacewalk Project Spacewalk, Uyuni-Project Uyuni.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-40348?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-40348 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-40348 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-40348 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-40348 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 1 Nov 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-40348 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2021-40348/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40348/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-40348
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-40348
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-40348

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40348/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.