# CVE-2021-4258: whohas Package Information cleartext transmission

> An attacker can intercept sensitive package information transmitted in cleartext by the whohas library, requiring a patch to enforce encryption.

- **Severity:** Low 3.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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:** No
- **Published:** 19 Dec 2022
- **Updated:** 15 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4258, GHSA-xgxj-cfph-mm49

## What is CVE-2021-4258?

CVE-2021-4258 is a low-severity vulnerability in unspecified whohas, published on 19 Dec 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability was found in whohas. It has been rated as problematic. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component Package Information Handler. The manipulation leads to cleartext transmission of sensitive information. The attack may be initiated remotely. The real existence of this vulnerability is still doubted at the moment. The name of the patch is 667c3e2e9178f15c23d7918b5db25cd0792c8472. It is recommended to apply a patch to fix this issue. The associated identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-216251. NOTE: Most sources redirect to the encrypted site which limits the possibilities of an attack.

Weakness: CWE-319 (Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information), CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-4258?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Whohas Project Whohas.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-4258?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-4258 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-4258 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-4258 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in unspecified whohas

- [CVE-2020-20178](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-20178/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-4258 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-4258 is a low-severity vulnerability in unspecified whohas, published on 19 Dec 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-2021-4258 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: unspecified whohas. 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-2021-4258/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4258/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-4258
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-4258
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-4258

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4258/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.