CVE-2021-21378 json
JWT authentication bypass with unknown issuer token
published 2021-03-11 5 y ago modified 2026-09-08 2 mo ago also BIT-envoy-2021-21378 , EUVD-2021-8686 , GHSA-4996-m8hf-hj27
- cvss
- 8.2
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 1.7%
- EPSS 1.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 77%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
Envoy is a cloud-native high-performance edge/middle/service proxy. In Envoy version 1.17.0 an attacker can bypass authentication by presenting a JWT token with an issuer that is not in the provider list when Envoy's JWT Authentication filter is configured with the `allow_missing` requirement under `requires_any` due to a mistake in implementation. Envoy's JWT Authentication filter can be configured with the `allow_missing` requirement that will be satisfied if JWT is missing (JwtMissed error) and fail if JWT is presented or invalid. Due to a mistake in implementation, a JwtUnknownIssuer error was mistakenly converted to JwtMissed when `requires_any` was configured. So if `allow_missing` was configured under `requires_any`, an attacker can bypass authentication by presenting a JWT token with an issuer that is not in the provider list. Integrity may be impacted depending on configuration if the JWT token is used to protect against writes or modifications. This regression was introduced on 2020/11/12 in PR 13839 which fixed handling `allow_missing` under RequiresAny in a JwtRequirement (see issue 13458). The AnyVerifier aggregates the children verifiers' results into a final status where JwtMissing is the default error. However, a JwtUnknownIssuer was mistakenly treated the same as a JwtMissing error and the resulting final aggregation was the default JwtMissing. As a result, `allow_missing` would allow a JWT token with an unknown issuer status. This is fixed in version 1.17.1 by PR 15194. The fix works by preferring JwtUnknownIssuer over a JwtMissing error, fixing the accidental conversion and bypass with `allow_missing`. A user could detect whether a bypass occurred if they have Envoy logs enabled with debug verbosity. Users can enable component level debug logs for JWT. The JWT filter logs will indicate that there is a request with a JWT token and a failure that the JWT token is missing.
Patch / fix
- bitnami envoy 1.17.1
- github.com/envoyproxy/envoy@ea39e3c commit
- github.com/envoyproxy/envoy#15194 pull request
Vendor advisories
What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.
red hat product security vex CVE-2021-21378 updated cvss 8.2
envoyproxy/envoy: JWT validation bypass when allow_missing is used
-
Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 1 servicemesh-proxy Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 2.0 servicemesh-proxynot affected: vulnerable code not present
Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf
Exploit prediction
1.71% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 77% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 8.2 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N |
| NVD | 3.1 | 8.2 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N |
| NVD | 2.0 | 6.4 | AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N |
| OSV | 3.1 | 8.2 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N |
Affected packages
| ecosystem | package | affected | fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| bitnami | envoy | >=1.17.0, <1.17.1 |
1.17.1 |
Affected products
- envoyproxy envoy
Classification
References
-
github.com
/envoyproxy/envoy/pull/15194
patch
-
github.com
/envoyproxy/envoy/commit/ea39e3cba652bcc4b11bb0d5c62b017e584d2e5a
patch, third-party-advisory, advisory
-
github.com
/envoyproxy/envoy/security/advisories/GHSA-4996-m8hf-hj27
mitigation, third-party-advisory, advisory
-
nvd.nist.gov
/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21378
web
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2021-21378
- NVD CVE-2021-21378
- OSV BIT-envoy-2021-21378
Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.