CVE-2021-20235
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The...
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The decoder static allocator could have its sized changed, but the buffer would remain the same as it is a static buffer. A remote, unauthenticated attacker who sends a crafted request to the zeromq server could trigger a buffer overflow WRITE of arbitrary data if CURVE/ZAP authentication is not enabled. The greatest impact of this flaw is to application availability, data integrity, and confidentiality.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
8.1
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The decoder static allocator could have its sized changed, but the buffer would remain the same as it is a static buffer. A remote, unauthenticated attacker who sends a crafted request to the zeromq server could trigger a buffer overflow WRITE of arbitrary data if CURVE/ZAP authentication is not enabled. The greatest impact of this flaw is to application availability, data integrity, and confidentiality.
- Record
CVE-2021-20235- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.8 Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-120, CWE-787
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The decoder static allocator could have its sized changed, but the buffer would remain the same as it is a static buffer. A remote, unauthenticated attacker who sends a crafted request to the zeromq server could trigger a buffer overflow WRITE of arbitrary data if CURVE/ZAP authentication is not enabled. The greatest impact of this flaw is to application availability, data integrity, and confidentiality.
- Record
CVE-2021-20235- Weakness
- CWE-120
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-7674 No score
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The decoder static allocator could have its sized changed, but the buffer would remain the same as it is a static buffer. A remote, unauthenticated attacker who sends a crafted request to the zeromq server could trigger a buffer overflow WRITE of arbitrary data if CURVE/ZAP authentication is not enabled. The greatest impact of this flaw is to application availability, data integrity, and confidentiality.
- Record
EUVD-2021-7674- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-hrfc-mjc4-cv8f
8.1
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The...
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The decoder static allocator could have its sized changed, but the buffer would remain the same as it is a static buffer. A remote, unauthenticated attacker who sends a crafted request to the zeromq server could trigger a buffer overflow WRITE of arbitrary data if CURVE/ZAP authentication is not enabled. The greatest impact of this flaw is to application availability, data integrity, and confidentiality.
- Record
GHSA-hrfc-mjc4-cv8f- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-120, CWE-787
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBELL-CVE-2021-20235
8.1
CVE-2021-20235 does not affect BellSoft software
- Record
BELL-CVE-2021-20235- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
8.1
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The decoder static allocator could have its sized changed, but the buffer would remain the same as it is a static buffer. A remote, unauthenticated attacker who sends a crafted request to the zeromq server could trigger a buffer overflow WRITE of arbitrary data if CURVE/ZAP authentication is not enabled. The greatest impact of this flaw is to application availability, data integrity, and confidentiality.
- Record
CVE-2021-20235- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Show 4 moreShow less
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2021-20235
8.1
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The decoder static allocator could have its sized changed, but the buffer would remain the same as it is a static buffer. A remote, unauthenticated attacker who sends a crafted request to the zeromq server could trigger a buffer overflow WRITE of arbitrary data if CURVE/ZAP authentication is not enabled. The greatest impact of this flaw is to application availability, data integrity, and confidentiality.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2021-20235- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVJLSEC-2026-515
8.1
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The decoder static allocator could have its sized changed, but the buffer would remain the same as it is a static buffer. A remote, unauthenticated attacker who sends a crafted request to the zeromq server could trigger a buffer overflow WRITE of arbitrary data if CURVE/ZAP authentication is not enabled. The greatest impact of this flaw is to application availability, data integrity, and confidentiality.
- Record
JLSEC-2026-515- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.8 Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2021-20235
8.1
There's a flaw in the zeromq server in versions before 4.3.3 in src/decoder_allocators.hpp. The decoder static allocator could have its sized changed, but the buffer would remain the same as it is a static buffer. A remote, unauthenticated attacker who sends a crafted request to the zeromq server could trigger a buffer overflow WRITE of arbitrary data if CURVE/ZAP authentication is not enabled. The greatest impact of this flaw is to application availability, data integrity, and confidentiality.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2021-20235- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-4920-1 No score
zeromq3 vulnerabilities
It was discovered that ZeroMQ incorrectly handled certain application metadata. A remote attacker could use this issue to cause ZeroMQ to crash, or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2019-13132)
It was discovered that ZeroMQ mishandled certain network traffic. An unauthenticated attacker could use this vulnerability to cause a denial-of- service and prevent legitimate clients from communicating with ZeroMQ. (CVE-2020-15166)
It was discovered that ZeroMQ did not properly manage memory under certain circumstances. If a user or automated system were tricked into connecting to one or multiple compromised servers, a remote attacker could use this issue to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2021-20234)
It was discovered that ZeroMQ incorrectly handled memory when processing messages with arbitrarily large sizes under certain circumstances. A remote unauthenticated attacker could use this issue to cause a ZeroMQ server to crash, resulting in a denial of service, or possibly execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 18.04 ESM and Ubuntu 20.04 ESM. (CVE-2021-20235)
It was discovered that ZeroMQ did not properly manage memory under certain circumstances. A remote unauthenticated attacker could use this issue to cause a ZeroMQ server to crash, resulting in a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 18.04 ESM and Ubuntu 20.04 ESM. (CVE-2021-20237)
- Record
USN-4920-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
zeromq3Debian:12 |
before 4.3.3-1 | 4.3.3-1 |
zeromq3Debian:13 |
before 4.3.3-1 | 4.3.3-1 |
zeromq3Debian:14 |
before 4.3.3-1 | 4.3.3-1 |
zeromq3Debian:9 From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
before 4.2.1-4+deb9u4, plus listed versions 4.2.1-44.2.1-4+deb9u14.2.1-4+deb9u24.2.1-4+deb9u3 |
4.2.1-4+deb9u4 |
ZeroMQ_jllJulia |
before 4.3.4+0 | 4.3.4+0 |
zeromq3Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS |
before 4.2.5-1ubuntu0.2+esm2, plus listed versions 4.2.1-4ubuntu14.2.2-1ubuntu24.2.3-14.2.3-1build14.2.5-14.2.5-1ubuntu0.14.2.5-1ubuntu0.24.2.5-1ubuntu0.2+esm1 |
4.2.5-1ubuntu0.2+esm2 |
zeromq3Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS |
before 4.3.2-2ubuntu1.20.04.1~esm2, plus listed versions 4.3.2-14.3.2-24.3.2-2ubuntu14.3.2-2ubuntu1.20.04.1~esm1 |
4.3.2-2ubuntu1.20.04.1~esm2 |
zeromq3Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS From an advisory covering 5 CVEs |
before 4.0.4+dfsg-2ubuntu0.1+esm3, plus listed versions 3.2.3+dfsg-23.2.4+dfsg-13.2.4+dfsg-23.2.4+dfsg-33.2.4+dfsg-4 Show 5 moreShow less4.0.3+dfsg-14.0.4+dfsg-24.0.4+dfsg-2ubuntu0.14.0.4+dfsg-2ubuntu0.1+esm14.0.4+dfsg-2ubuntu0.1+esm2 |
4.0.4+dfsg-2ubuntu0.1+esm3 |
zeromq3Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS From an advisory covering 5 CVEs |
before 4.1.4-7ubuntu0.1+esm2, plus listed versions 4.0.5+dfsg-3ubuntu1~gcc5.14.0.5+dfsg-3ubuntu24.1.4-74.1.4-7ubuntu0.14.1.4-7ubuntu0.1+esm1 |
4.1.4-7ubuntu0.1+esm2 |
zeromq3Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS From an advisory covering 5 CVEs |
before 4.2.5-1ubuntu0.2+esm2, plus listed versions 4.2.1-4ubuntu14.2.2-1ubuntu24.2.3-14.2.3-1build14.2.5-14.2.5-1ubuntu0.14.2.5-1ubuntu0.24.2.5-1ubuntu0.2+esm1 |
4.2.5-1ubuntu0.2+esm2 |
zeromq3Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS From an advisory covering 5 CVEs |
before 4.3.2-2ubuntu1.20.04.1~esm2, plus listed versions 4.3.2-14.3.2-24.3.2-2ubuntu14.3.2-2ubuntu1.20.04.1~esm1 |
4.3.2-2ubuntu1.20.04.1~esm2 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases, products | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-20235 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.1) in Microsoft Zeromq, published March 9, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 43.9%, the 98th percentile. Fixed in zeromq3 4.3.3-1.