Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
- EPSS is 1.33% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2021
CVE-2021-32781High confidence
Continued processing of requests after locally generated response
envoyproxy · envoy
8.6HighCVSS 3.1
Within 7 days
Fix not verifiedHigh technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityHigh→Operational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs envoyproxy envoy and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
Envoy is an open source L7 proxy and communication bus designed for large modern service oriented architectures. In affected versions after Envoy sends a locally generated response it must stop further processing of request or response data. However when local response is generated due the internal buffer overflow while request or response is processed by the filter chain the operation may not be stopped completely and result in accessing a freed memory block. A specifically constructed request delivered by an untrusted downstream or upstream peer in the presence of extensions that modify and increase the size of request or response bodies resulting in a Denial of Service when using extensions that modify and increase the size of request or response bodies, such as decompressor filter. Envoy versions 1.19.1, 1.18.4, 1.17.4, 1.16.5 contain fixes to address incomplete termination of request processing after locally generated response. As a workaround disable Envoy's decompressor, json-transcoder or grpc-web extensions or proprietary extensions that modify and increase the size of request or response bodies, if feasible.
What
Envoy is an open source L7 proxy and communication bus designed for large modern service oriented architectures. In affected versions after Envoy sends a locally generated response it must stop further processing of request or response data. However when local response is generated due the internal buffer overflow while request or response is processed by the filter chain the operation may not be stopped completely and result in accessing a freed memory block. A specifically constructed request delivered by an untrusted downstream or upstream peer in the presence of extensions that modify and increase the size of request or response bodies resulting in a Denial of Service when using extensions that modify and increase the size of request or response bodies, such as decompressor filter. Envoy versions 1.19.1, 1.18.4, 1.17.4, 1.16.5 contain fixes to address incomplete termination of request processing after locally generated response. As a workaround disable Envoy's decompressor, json-transcoder or grpc-web extensions or proprietary extensions that modify and increase the size of request or response bodies, if feasible.
Why
The program can continue using memory after it has been released, producing unsafe and attacker-influenceable behaviour.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
What
Envoy is an open source L7 proxy and communication bus designed for large modern service oriented architectures. In affected versions after Envoy sends a locally generated response it must stop further processing of request or response data. However when local response is generated due the internal buffer overflow while request or response is processed by the filter chain the operation may not be stopped completely and result in accessing a freed memory block. A specifically constructed request delivered by an untrusted downstream or upstream peer in the presence of extensions that modify and increase the size of request or response bodies resulting in a Denial of Service when using extensions that modify and increase the size of request or response bodies, such as decompressor filter. Envoy versions 1.19.1, 1.18.4, 1.17.4, 1.16.5 contain fixes to address incomplete termination of request processing after locally generated response. As a workaround disable Envoy's decompressor, json-transcoder or grpc-web extensions or proprietary extensions that modify and increase the size of request or response bodies, if feasible.
Why
The program can continue using memory after it has been released, producing unsafe and attacker-influenceable behaviour.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- a network path → Use After Free → disrupt the affected service
- Attack surface
- Network
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-416 ↗
CWE-416: Use After Free. The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:HCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Fix not verified
- Affected
- envoy: >= 1.19.0, < 1.19.1, >= 1.18.0, < 1.18.4, >= 1.17.0, < 1.17.4, >= 1.16.0, < 1.16.5
- Fixed
- No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Action
- No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 24 Aug 2021 · Last source change 3 Aug 2024, 23:33 UTC · CWE-416 · Use After Free
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-19545
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.