GCVE Workshop - 22 September 2026 (14:00-18:00), Luxembourg Before The Vulnopticon Conference - Registration

UBUNTU-CVE-2021-21295 (CVE-2021-21295)

Vulnerability from osv_ubuntu – Published: 2021-03-09 19:15 – Updated: 2026-06-08 16:09 – Source website
VLAI
Details

Netty is an open-source, asynchronous event-driven network application framework for rapid development of maintainable high performance protocol servers & clients. In Netty (io.netty:netty-codec-http2) before version 4.1.60.Final there is a vulnerability that enables request smuggling. If a Content-Length header is present in the original HTTP/2 request, the field is not validated by Http2MultiplexHandler as it is propagated up. This is fine as long as the request is not proxied through as HTTP/1.1. If the request comes in as an HTTP/2 stream, gets converted into the HTTP/1.1 domain objects (HttpRequest, HttpContent, etc.) via Http2StreamFrameToHttpObjectCodecand then sent up to the child channel's pipeline and proxied through a remote peer as HTTP/1.1 this may result in request smuggling. In a proxy case, users may assume the content-length is validated somehow, which is not the case. If the request is forwarded to a backend channel that is a HTTP/1.1 connection, the Content-Length now has meaning and needs to be checked. An attacker can smuggle requests inside the body as it gets downgraded from HTTP/2 to HTTP/1.1. For an example attack refer to the linked GitHub Advisory. Users are only affected if all of this is true: HTTP2MultiplexCodec or Http2FrameCodec is used, Http2StreamFrameToHttpObjectCodec is used to convert to HTTP/1.1 objects, and these HTTP/1.1 objects are forwarded to another remote peer. This has been patched in 4.1.60.Final As a workaround, the user can do the validation by themselves by implementing a custom ChannelInboundHandler that is put in the ChannelPipeline behind Http2StreamFrameToHttpObjectCodec.

Severity
5.9 (Medium)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
5.9 (Medium)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
N/A (UNKNOWN)
medium
References
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "libnetty-java",
            "binary_version": "1:3.2.6.Final-2+deb8u2ubuntu0.1~esm1"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS",
        "name": "netty",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/netty@1:3.2.6.Final-2+deb8u2ubuntu0.1~esm1?arch=source\u0026distro=esm-infra-legacy/trusty"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "1:3.2.6.Final-2",
        "1:3.2.6.Final-2+deb8u2build0.14.04.1~esm1",
        "1:3.2.6.Final-2+deb8u2ubuntu0.1~esm1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "availability": "Available with Ubuntu Pro: https://ubuntu.com/pro",
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "libnetty-java",
            "binary_version": "1:4.0.34-1ubuntu0.1~esm1"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS",
        "name": "netty",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/netty@1:4.0.34-1ubuntu0.1~esm1?arch=source\u0026distro=esm-apps/xenial"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1:4.0.34-1ubuntu0.1~esm1"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "1:3.2.6.Final-2",
        "1:4.0.32-1",
        "1:4.0.33-1",
        "1:4.0.34-1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "availability": "Available with Ubuntu Pro: https://ubuntu.com/pro",
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "libnetty-java",
            "binary_version": "1:4.1.7-4ubuntu0.1+esm2"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS",
        "name": "netty",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/netty@1:4.1.7-4ubuntu0.1+esm2?arch=source\u0026distro=esm-apps/bionic"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1:4.1.7-4ubuntu0.1+esm2"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "1:4.1.7-4",
        "1:4.1.7-4ubuntu0.1~esm1",
        "1:4.1.7-4ubuntu0.1",
        "1:4.1.7-4ubuntu0.1+esm1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "availability": "Available with Ubuntu Pro: https://ubuntu.com/pro",
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "libnetty-java",
            "binary_version": "1:4.1.45-1ubuntu0.1~esm1"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS",
        "name": "netty",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/netty@1:4.1.45-1ubuntu0.1~esm1?arch=source\u0026distro=esm-apps/focal"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1:4.1.45-1ubuntu0.1~esm1"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "1:4.1.33-1",
        "1:4.1.33-2",
        "1:4.1.33-3",
        "1:4.1.45-1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "availability": "No subscription required",
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "libnetty-java",
            "binary_version": "1:4.1.48-4+deb11u1build0.22.04.1"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:22.04:LTS",
        "name": "netty",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/netty@1:4.1.48-4+deb11u1build0.22.04.1?arch=source\u0026distro=jammy"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1:4.1.48-4+deb11u1build0.22.04.1"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "1:4.1.48-4"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [],
  "details": "Netty is an open-source, asynchronous event-driven network application framework for rapid development of maintainable high performance protocol servers \u0026 clients. In Netty (io.netty:netty-codec-http2) before version 4.1.60.Final there is a vulnerability that enables request smuggling. If a Content-Length header is present in the original HTTP/2 request, the field is not validated by `Http2MultiplexHandler` as it is propagated up. This is fine as long as the request is not proxied through as HTTP/1.1. If the request comes in as an HTTP/2 stream, gets converted into the HTTP/1.1 domain objects (`HttpRequest`, `HttpContent`, etc.) via `Http2StreamFrameToHttpObjectCodec `and then sent up to the child channel\u0027s pipeline and proxied through a remote peer as HTTP/1.1 this may result in request smuggling. In a proxy case, users may assume the content-length is validated somehow, which is not the case. If the request is forwarded to a backend channel that is a HTTP/1.1 connection, the Content-Length now has meaning and needs to be checked. An attacker can smuggle requests inside the body as it gets downgraded from HTTP/2 to HTTP/1.1. For an example attack refer to the linked GitHub Advisory. Users are only affected if all of this is true: `HTTP2MultiplexCodec` or `Http2FrameCodec` is used, `Http2StreamFrameToHttpObjectCodec` is used to convert to HTTP/1.1 objects, and these HTTP/1.1 objects are forwarded to another remote peer. This has been patched in 4.1.60.Final As a workaround, the user can do the validation by themselves by implementing a custom `ChannelInboundHandler` that is put in the `ChannelPipeline` behind `Http2StreamFrameToHttpObjectCodec`.",
  "id": "UBUNTU-CVE-2021-21295",
  "modified": "2026-06-08T16:09:12Z",
  "published": "2021-03-09T19:15:00Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-21295"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty/security/advisories/GHSA-wm47-8v5p-wjpj"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://github.com/netty/netty/commit/89c241e3b1795ff257af4ad6eadc616cb2fb3dc4"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://github.com/Netflix/zuul/pull/980"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6049-1"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-21295"
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "USN-6049-1"
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.7.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    },
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    },
    {
      "score": "medium",
      "type": "Ubuntu"
    }
  ],
  "upstream": [
    "CVE-2021-21295"
  ]
}



Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.





Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

Author Source Type Date Other

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.


Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.


Related by attack behaviour

Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.