Cyber Resilience

CVE-2021-38294

RCE in Apache Storm 1.0.0 – 1.2.4

Public PoCHigh EPSSRCECommand Injection
Published
25 October 2021
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.84 99.7th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2021-38294 is a critical-severity Injection (CWE-74) vulnerability in Apache Storm. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A Command Injection vulnerability exists in the getTopologyHistory service of the Apache Storm 2.x prior to 2.2.1 and Apache Storm 1.x prior to 1.2.4. A specially crafted thrift request to the Nimbus server allows Remote Code Execution (RCE) prior to…

more

authentication.

CWE(s)
CWE-74CWE-78

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
The vulnerability is a pre-authentication command injection in a publicly exposed Apache Storm Nimbus service, directly enabling remote exploitation of a public-facing application.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Executionconfidence: HIGH
Successful exploitation results in arbitrary command execution on the target system via the injected command payload.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalationconfidence: MEDIUM
Remote code execution achieved through the service can be leveraged by an attacker to escalate privileges depending on the process context.
attack.mitre.org →
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-21742Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-25613Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-36522Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-33234Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-43667Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-51388Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-51653Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-25141Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2020-13942Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-41834Same vendor: Apache

Affected Assets

apache
storm
1.0.0 — 1.2.4 · 2.1.0 — 2.1.1 · 2.2.0 — 2.2.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8

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.

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation
addresses: CWE-74

Developer assessments and testing (including injection-focused techniques) identify improper neutralization of special elements, and the verifiable flaw remediation corrects them pre-deployment.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-78

Platform-independent apps typically execute inside a managed runtime or sandbox that restricts direct OS command execution, reducing the ability to exploit OS command injection.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-78

Validates inputs to block special elements that would alter OS command execution.

SI-4 System Monitoring
addresses: CWE-74

Identifies indicators of injection attacks (command, SQL, LDAP, etc.) via anomaly and attack monitoring.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and output encoding that prevent injection flaws.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
detects

Security testing in development catches injection vulnerabilities before release.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
detects

Logging supports detection of injection attempts but does not prevent the weakness.

A.8.16 Monitoring activities partial match
detects

Monitoring activities can identify active injection attacks after they occur.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and output encoding that directly prevent injection flaws.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection attacks in software design.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles reduce injection surfaces but do not prescribe specific neutralization techniques.

References