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Fencer Vulns
high 7.0

CVE-2021-20271 json

A flaw was found in RPM's signature check functionality when reading a package file.

published 2021-03-26 5 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2021-7705

cvss
7.0
version 3.1, NVD
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.8%
EPSS 0.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 55%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

A flaw was found in RPM's signature check functionality when reading a package file. This flaw allows an attacker who can convince a victim to install a seemingly verifiable package, whose signature header was modified, to cause RPM database corruption and execute code. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data integrity, confidentiality, and system availability.

Patch / fix

  • rpm rpm 4.15.1.3, 4.16.1.3
  • rpm Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 4.16.1.2+dfsg1-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2021-20271

  • rpm Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS 4.12.0.1+dfsg1-3ubuntu0.1~esm1
  • rpm Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS 4.14.1+dfsg1-2ubuntu0.1~esm1
  • rpm Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS 4.14.2.1+dfsg1-1ubuntu0.1~esm1

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2021-20271

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • rpm RHEL 7 4.11.3-48.el7_9
  • rpm-cron RHEL 7 4.11.3-48.el7_9
  • rpm-libs RHEL 7 4.11.3-48.el7_9
  • rpm-sign RHEL 7 4.11.3-48.el7_9
  • rpm-build RHEL 7 4.11.3-48.el7_9
  • rpm-python RHEL 7 4.11.3-48.el7_9
  • rpm-apidocs RHEL 7 4.11.3-48.el7_9
  • rpm-build-libs RHEL 7 4.11.3-48.el7_9

red hat advisories RHSA-2021:4975RHSA-2021:4785RHSA-2021:4771RHSA-2021:2791RHSA-2021:2574

  • rpm SLES for SAP 12 SP5, SLES 12 SP5, SLE Software Development Kit 12 SP5 4.11.2-16.26.1
  • rpm-python SLES for SAP 12 SP5, SLES 12 SP5 4.11.2-16.26.1
  • python3-rpm SLES for SAP 12 SP5, SLES 12 SP5 4.11.2-16.26.1
  • rpm SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP2, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP2, SLE Micro 5.0 +2 more 4.14.1-22.4.2
  • rpm-ndb SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP2 4.14.1-22.4.2
  • python-rpm SLE Module for Python 2 15 SP2, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP2, SLE Micro 5.0 4.14.1-22.4.1
  • rpm SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP3, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP3, Manager Server Module 4.2 +1 more 4.14.3-37.2
  • rpm-ndb SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP3 4.14.3-37.2

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2022:3939-1SUSE-SU-2021:3444-1SUSE-SU-2021:2682-1

  • rpm openSUSE Leap 15.2 4.14.1-lp152.18.3.1
  • python-rpm openSUSE Leap 15.2 4.14.1-lp152.18.3.1
  • rpm openSUSE Leap 15.3 4.14.3-37.2
  • rpm-ndb openSUSE Leap 15.3 4.14.3-37.2
  • python-rpm openSUSE Leap 15.3 4.14.3-37.2
  • libdnf openSUSE Leap 15.3 0.62.0-5.3.1

opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2021:1366-1openSUSE-SU-2021:2682-1openSUSE-SU-2021:2685-1

  • rpm Rocky Linux 8 4.14.3-14.el8_4

rocky linux advisories RLSA-2021:2574

  • rpm Alpine 3.24, Alpine 3.23, Alpine 3.22 +9 more 4.16.1.3-r0

alpine advisories ALPINE-CVE-2021-20271

Alpine secdb © Alpine Linux, from https://secdb.alpinelinux.org via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

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-2021-20271 updated cvss 6.7

rpm: Signature checks bypass via corrupted rpm package

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 rpm, rpm-cron, rpm-libs, rpm-build, rpm-python, rpm-apidocs
    affected: no fix planned “Out of support scope”
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) rpm-build 4.14.3-14.el8_4, rpm-plugin-fapolicyd 4.14.3-14.el8_4
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:2574
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.2) rpm-build 4.14.2-38.el8_2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:2791
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) rpm 4.14.3-14.el8_4, rpm-cron 4.14.3-14.el8_4, rpm-libs 4.14.3-14.el8_4, rpm-sign 4.14.3-14.el8_4, python3-rpm 4.14.3-14.el8_4, rpm-apidocs 4.14.3-14.el8_4, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:2574
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 8.2) rpm 4.14.2-38.el8_2, rpm-cron 4.14.2-38.el8_2, rpm-libs 4.14.2-38.el8_2, rpm-sign 4.14.2-38.el8_2, python3-rpm 4.14.2-38.el8_2, rpm-apidocs 4.14.2-38.el8_2, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:2791
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) rpm 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-libs 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-build 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-python 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-build-libs 4.11.3-48.el7_9 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) rpm-cron 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-sign 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-apidocs 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-plugin-systemd-inhibit 4.11.3-48.el7_9 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) rpm-cron 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-sign 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-apidocs 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-plugin-systemd-inhibit 4.11.3-48.el7_9 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) rpm 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-libs 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-sign 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-build 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-python 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-build-libs 4.11.3-48.el7_9
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4785
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.6) rpm 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-libs 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-sign 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-build 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-python 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-build-libs 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4771
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.7) rpm 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-libs 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-sign 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-build 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-python 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-build-libs 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4975
show 14 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server E4S (v. 7.6) rpm 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-libs 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-sign 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-build 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-python 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-build-libs 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4771
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server E4S (v. 7.7) rpm 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-libs 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-sign 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-build 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-python 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-build-libs 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4975
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) rpm-cron 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-apidocs 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-plugin-systemd-inhibit 4.11.3-48.el7_9
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4785
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional AUS (v. 7.6) rpm-cron 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-apidocs 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-plugin-systemd-inhibit 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4771
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional AUS (v. 7.7) rpm-cron 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-apidocs 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-plugin-systemd-inhibit 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4975
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional E4S (v. 7.6) rpm-cron 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-apidocs 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-plugin-systemd-inhibit 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4771
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional E4S (v. 7.7) rpm-cron 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-apidocs 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-plugin-systemd-inhibit 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4975
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional TUS (v. 7.6) rpm-cron 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-apidocs 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-plugin-systemd-inhibit 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4771
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional TUS (v. 7.7) rpm-cron 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-apidocs 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-plugin-systemd-inhibit 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4975
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server TUS (v. 7.6) rpm 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-libs 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-sign 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-build 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-python 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2, rpm-build-libs 4.11.3-35.el7_6.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4771
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server TUS (v. 7.7) rpm 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-libs 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-sign 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-build 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-python 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1, rpm-build-libs 4.11.3-40.el7_7.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4975
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) rpm 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-libs 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-sign 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-build 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-python 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-build-libs 4.11.3-48.el7_9 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) rpm-cron 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-apidocs 4.11.3-48.el7_9, rpm-plugin-systemd-inhibit 4.11.3-48.el7_9
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:4785
  • Red Hat Migration Toolkit 1.4 rhmtc/openshift-migration-ui-rhel8 v1.4.6-4, rhmtc/openshift-velero-plugin-rhel8 v1.4.6-4, rhmtc/openshift-migration-velero-rhel8 v1.4.6-5, rhmtc/openshift-migration-registry-rhel8 v1.4.6-4, rhmtc/openshift-migration-operator-bundle v1.4.6-5, rhmtc/openshift-migration-controller-rhel8 v1.4.6-4, +7 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHBA-2021:2854
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 rpm, rpm-cron, rpm-libs, rpm-sign, rpm-build, python3-rpm, +9 more
    not 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

0.77% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 55% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
NVD 3.1 7.0 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 5.1 AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Affected products

  • n/a rpm

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-345 Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity

References

Sources

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.