CVE-2021-44538
What it is
The olm_session_describe function in Matrix libolm before 3.2.7 is vulnerable to a buffer overflow. The Olm session object represents a cryptographic channel between two parties. Therefore, its state is partially controllable by the remote party of the channel. Attackers can construct a crafted sequence of messages to manipulate the state of the receiver's session in such a way that, for some buffer sizes, a buffer overflow happens on a call to olm_session_describe. Furthermore, safe buffer sizes were undocumented. The overflow content is partially controllable by the attacker and limited to ASCII spaces and digits. The known affected products are Element Web And SchildiChat Web.
At a glance
- Exploitability
- Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.
- Exploit odds
- 2.0% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).
- Fix
- A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.
Timeline
- PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
- Last updatedMost recent change to the record
Why it ranks here
- Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
- Exploit odds: 2.0% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
- Severity: 9.8 CRITICAL (CVSS).
- Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.
Details
- Published
- Last modified
- Exploit probability
- 2.0% · EPSS, next 30 days
- Weakness
- CWE-119 · Buffer errors
- Record status
- Modified
Affected
- Matrix Element < 1.9.7
- Matrix Javascript Sdk < 15.2.1
- Matrix Olm < 3.2.8
- Schildi Schildichat < 1.9.7-sc1
- Cinny Project Cinny < 1.6.0
- Debian Linux 9.0
- Debian Linux 10.0
- Debian Linux 11.0
Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 9.8
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Is it in your code?
Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.
Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2021-44538.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2021-44538. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.
Fix and advisories
- https://matrix.org/blog/2021/12/13/disclosure-buffer-overflow-in-libolm-and-matrix-js-sdk
- https://matrix.org/blog/2021/12/13/disclosure-buffer-overflow-in-libolm-and-matrix-js-sdk
References
- https://gitlab.matrix.org/matrix-org/olm/-/tags
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/01/msg00001.html
- https://matrix.org/blog/2021/12/13/disclosure-buffer-overflow-in-libolm-and-matrix-js-sdk
- https://www.debian.org/security/2022/dsa-5034
- https://gitlab.matrix.org/matrix-org/olm/-/tags
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/01/msg00001.html
- https://matrix.org/blog/2021/12/13/disclosure-buffer-overflow-in-libolm-and-matrix-js-sdk
- https://www.debian.org/security/2022/dsa-5034