Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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-2024-21633 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Apktool Apktool. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 29% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
Apktool is a command-line tool used for reverse engineering Android APK files. CVE-2024-21633 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) present in versions 2.9.1 and earlier. The tool determines output paths for resource files solely from names embedded in the APK, allowing an attacker-controlled name to influence filesystem writes performed during decoding or rebuilding operations.
An attacker can supply a malicious APK that, when processed by Apktool under a user account, causes arbitrary files to be written or overwritten in locations where that user has write access. Successful exploitation requires either knowledge of the target username or execution from a working directory beneath the user’s home folder, and can result in modification of configuration, binaries, or other sensitive files on the host system. The CVSS 7.8 score reflects local attack vector, low complexity, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
The project’s security advisory GHSA-2hqv-2xv4-5h5w and the referenced commit d348c43b24a9de350ff6e5bd610545a10c1fc712 document the fix and recommend that users update to a patched release. The EPSS score rose from lower values to a peak of 0.8052 before receding to the current 0.6819, indicating increased exploitation interest after disclosure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-19273
Vulnerability Data
Apktool is a tool for reverse engineering Android APK files. In versions 2.9.1 and prior, Apktool infers resource files' output path according to their resource names which can be manipulated by attacker to place files at desired location on the…
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system Apktool runs on. Affected environments are those in which an attacker may write/overwrite any file that user has write access, and either user name is known or cwd is under user folder. Commit d348c43b24a9de350ff6e5bd610545a10c1fc712 contains a patch for this issue.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
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.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
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.