Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- A structured source references public exploit or proof-of-concept material.
- EPSS is 2.90% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2021
CVE-2021-32829High confidence
Post-authentication Remote Code Execution (RCE) in ZStack REST API
zstackio · zstack
9.6CriticalCVSS 3.1
Within 72 hours
Fix not verifiedCritical technical impact and a public exploit reference; no CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityCritical→Operational priority:Critical, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
- Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs zstackio zstack 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.
Critical technical impact and a public exploit reference; no CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
ZStack is open source IaaS(infrastructure as a service) software aiming to automate datacenters, managing resources of compute, storage, and networking all by APIs. Affected versions of ZStack REST API are vulnerable to post-authentication Remote Code Execution (RCE) via bypass of the Groovy shell sandbox. The REST API exposes the GET zstack/v1/batch-queries?script endpoint which is backed up by the BatchQueryAction class. Messages are represented by the APIBatchQueryMsg, dispatched to the QueryFacadeImpl facade and handled by the BatchQuery class. The HTTP request parameter script is mapped to the APIBatchQueryMsg.script property and evaluated as a Groovy script in BatchQuery.query the evaluation of the user-controlled Groovy script is sandboxed by SandboxTransformer which will apply the restrictions defined in the registered (sandbox.register()) GroovyInterceptor. Even though the sandbox heavily restricts the receiver types to a small set of allowed types, the sandbox is non effective at controlling any code placed in Java annotations and therefore vulnerable to meta-programming escapes. This issue leads to post-authenticated remote code execution. For more details see the referenced GHSL-2021-065. This issue is patched in versions 3.8.21, 3.10.8, and 4.1.0.
What
ZStack is open source IaaS(infrastructure as a service) software aiming to automate datacenters, managing resources of compute, storage, and networking all by APIs. Affected versions of ZStack REST API are vulnerable to post-authentication Remote Code Execution (RCE) via bypass of the Groovy shell sandbox. The REST API exposes the GET zstack/v1/batch-queries?script endpoint which is backed up by the BatchQueryAction class. Messages are represented by the APIBatchQueryMsg, dispatched to the QueryFacadeImpl facade and handled by the BatchQuery class. The HTTP request parameter script is mapped to the APIBatchQueryMsg.script property and evaluated as a Groovy script in BatchQuery.query the evaluation of the user-controlled Groovy script is sandboxed by SandboxTransformer which will apply the restrictions defined in the registered (sandbox.register()) GroovyInterceptor. Even though the sandbox heavily restricts the receiver types to a small set of allowed types, the sandbox is non effective at controlling any code placed in Java annotations and therefore vulnerable to meta-programming escapes. This issue leads to post-authenticated remote code execution. For more details see the referenced GHSL-2021-065. This issue is patched in versions 3.8.21, 3.10.8, and 4.1.0.
Why
Untrusted data can cross into a code-evaluation path and be interpreted as executable instructions.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.
What
ZStack is open source IaaS(infrastructure as a service) software aiming to automate datacenters, managing resources of compute, storage, and networking all by APIs. Affected versions of ZStack REST API are vulnerable to post-authentication Remote Code Execution (RCE) via bypass of the Groovy shell sandbox. The REST API exposes the GET zstack/v1/batch-queries?script endpoint which is backed up by the BatchQueryAction class. Messages are represented by the APIBatchQueryMsg, dispatched to the QueryFacadeImpl facade and handled by the BatchQuery class. The HTTP request parameter script is mapped to the APIBatchQueryMsg.script property and evaluated as a Groovy script in BatchQuery.query the evaluation of the user-controlled Groovy script is sandboxed by SandboxTransformer which will apply the restrictions defined in the registered (sandbox.register()) GroovyInterceptor. Even though the sandbox heavily restricts the receiver types to a small set of allowed types, the sandbox is non effective at controlling any code placed in Java annotations and therefore vulnerable to meta-programming escapes. This issue leads to post-authenticated remote code execution. For more details see the referenced GHSL-2021-065. This issue is patched in versions 3.8.21, 3.10.8, and 4.1.0.
Why
Untrusted data can cross into a code-evaluation path and be interpreted as executable instructions.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.
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 Reference recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.A structured CVE source labels at least one public reference as exploit material. BlackTree has not independently validated that it is safe, reliable or weaponised.
- Likely attack path
- a network path → Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') → execute code or commands in the affected security context
- Attack surface
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low: a basic authenticated account is required
- 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-94 ↗
CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection'). The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment.
- 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:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:NCommon 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.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- After compromise, an attacker may use built-in shells, scripting engines, scheduled tasks and native network utilities for discovery, persistence or movement. This is a plausible LoTL path, not evidence that it has occurred for every attack.
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
- zstack: < 3.8.21, >=3.10.0, < 3.10.8, >=4.0.0, < 4.1.0
- 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 17 Aug 2021 · Last source change 3 Aug 2024, 23:33 UTC · CWE-94 · Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
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-2021-19569
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.