# CVE-2021-42341: Memory corruption in n/a

> A buffer overflow in OpenRC's checkpath function allows attackers to cause memory corruption, potentially leading to code execution or denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Oct 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2021-42341, CLEANSTART-2024-TD30600, GHSA-3fxr-g4w3-xwx9

## What is CVE-2021-42341?

CVE-2021-42341 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Oct 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

checkpath in OpenRC before 0.44.7 uses the direct output of strlen() to allocate strings, which does not account for the '\0' byte at the end of the string. This results in memory corruption. CVE-2021-42341 was introduced in git commit 63db2d99e730547339d1bdd28e8437999c380cae, which was introduced as part of OpenRC 0.44.0 development.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-42341?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Openrc Project Openrc.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-42341?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2021-42341 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-42341 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2018-21269](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-21269/): Path traversal in n/a (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-42341 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-42341 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Oct 2021. 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-2021-42341 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-2021-42341/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-42341/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-42341
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-42341
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-42341

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-42341/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.