CVE-2021-38003
Debian Linux 10.0 … 11.0
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2021-38003 is a high-severity Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions (CWE-755) vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
The vulnerability is an inappropriate implementation in the V8 JavaScript engine within Google Chrome versions prior to 95.0.4638.69. It is tracked as CVE-2021-38003 with a CVSS score of 8.8 and is associated with CWE-755, allowing potential heap corruption when a victim renders a specially crafted HTML page.
A remote attacker can exploit the flaw without authentication by serving the malicious page to a target user, who needs only to visit it in an affected browser. Successful exploitation can result in heap corruption that compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected system.
Chrome release notes and corresponding advisories from Fedora and Debian indicate that the issue is resolved by updating to version 95.0.4638.69 or later; distribution-specific packages were made available to facilitate deployment of the patched builds.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2021-24476
Vulnerability Data
Inappropriate implementation in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 95.0.4638.69 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 03 November 2021
Related Threats
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Provides defined handling (alert and additional actions) for the exceptional condition of audit logging failure.
Supplies a concrete handling action (safe mode) for exceptional conditions, mitigating risks from improper or absent handling that could allow continued attacks.
By preparing users for contingency scenarios, the control promotes proper handling of exceptional conditions instead of default or unsafe behaviors.
An updated contingency plan defines current actions for exceptional conditions, reducing the window for attackers to exploit improper handling leading to system failure.
Procedures ensure proper handling of exceptional conditions to support effective incident response.
Incident response testing confirms proper handling of exceptional conditions to limit exploit impact.
Gives users guidance on incident handling, reducing improper handling of exceptional conditions that could stem from exploited weaknesses.
Enforces structured response to exceptional conditions so the system cannot remain in an unsafe state.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Documented operating procedures may specify exception handling but do not guarantee implementation.
Logging captures unhandled exceptions, aiding detection but not preventing the weakness.
Monitoring can surface unhandled exceptions but does not enforce proper handling.
Secure SDLC mandates exception-handling requirements and testing that directly prevent improper handling of exceptional conditions.
A.8.26 explicitly lists resilience against malicious attacks including SQL injections, input validation, error message handling, and several integrity/authorization requirements that address exceptional conditions in a minority of cases, but most CWE-755 instances (e.g. unhandled nulls, resource errors, unexpected states) fall outside its named topics.
A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles (fail securely, least privilege, defense-in-depth, distrust external input, assume-breach) plus design reviews that can catch and stop many but not all mishandlings of exceptional conditions before they reach production code; a bounded remainder (e.g. subtle runtime error paths, library-level faults, or post-review regressions) can still be present and exploitable.
Hardening callouts derived
DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.