CVE-2021-41157
FreeSWITCH does not authenticate SIP SUBSCRIBE requests by default
FreeSWITCH is a Software Defined Telecom Stack enabling the digital transformation from proprietary telecom switches to a software implementation that runs on any commodity hardware. By default, SIP requests of the type SUBSCRIBE are not authenticated in the affected versions of FreeSWITCH. Abuse of this security issue allows attackers to subscribe to user agent event notifications without the need to authenticate. This abuse poses privacy concerns and might lead to social engineering or similar attacks. For example, attackers may be able to monitor the status of target SIP extensions. Although this issue was fixed in version v1.10.6, installations upgraded to the fixed version of FreeSWITCH from an older version, may still be vulnerable if the configuration is not updated accordingly. Software upgrades do not update the configuration by default. SIP SUBSCRIBE messages should be authenticated by default so that FreeSWITCH administrators do not need to explicitly set the auth-subscriptions parameter. When following such a recommendation, a new parameter can be introduced to explicitly disable authentication.
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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
5.3
FreeSWITCH does not authenticate SIP SUBSCRIBE requests by default
FreeSWITCH is a Software Defined Telecom Stack enabling the digital transformation from proprietary telecom switches to a software implementation that runs on any commodity hardware. By default, SIP requests of the type SUBSCRIBE are not authenticated in the affected versions of FreeSWITCH. Abuse of this security issue allows attackers to subscribe to user agent event notifications without the need to authenticate. This abuse poses privacy concerns and might lead to social engineering or similar attacks. For example, attackers may be able to monitor the status of target SIP extensions. Although this issue was fixed in version v1.10.6, installations upgraded to the fixed version of FreeSWITCH from an older version, may still be vulnerable if the configuration is not updated accordingly. Software upgrades do not update the configuration by default. SIP SUBSCRIBE messages should be authenticated by default so that FreeSWITCH administrators do not need to explicitly set the auth-subscriptions parameter. When following such a recommendation, a new parameter can be introduced to explicitly disable authentication.
- Record
CVE-2021-41157- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-287
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-28267
5.3
FreeSWITCH is a Software Defined Telecom Stack enabling the digital transformation from proprietary telecom switches to a software implementation that runs on any commodity hardware. By default, SIP requests of the type SUBSCRIBE are not authenticated in the affected versions of FreeSWITCH. Abuse of this security issue allows attackers to subscribe to user agent event notifications without the need to authenticate. This abuse poses privacy concerns and might lead to social engineering or similar attacks. For example, attackers may be able to monitor the status of target SIP extensions. Although this issue was fixed in version v1.10.6, installations upgraded to the fixed version of FreeSWITCH from an older version, may still be vulnerable if the configuration is not updated accordingly. Software upgrades do not update the configuration by default. SIP SUBSCRIBE messages should be authenticated by default so that FreeSWITCH administrators do not need to explicitly set the auth-subscriptions parameter. When following such a recommendation, a new parameter can be introduced to explicitly disable authentication.
- Record
EUVD-2021-28267- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
NVD
5.3
FreeSWITCH is a Software Defined Telecom Stack enabling the digital transformation from proprietary telecom switches to a software implementation that runs on any commodity hardware. By default, SIP requests of the type SUBSCRIBE are not authenticated in the affected versions of FreeSWITCH. Abuse of this security issue allows attackers to subscribe to user agent event notifications without the need to authenticate. This abuse poses privacy concerns and might lead to social engineering or similar attacks. For example, attackers may be able to monitor the status of target SIP extensions. Although this issue was fixed in version v1.10.6, installations upgraded to the fixed version of FreeSWITCH from an older version, may still be vulnerable if the configuration is not updated accordingly. Software upgrades do not update the configuration by default. SIP SUBSCRIBE messages should be authenticated by default so that FreeSWITCH administrators do not need to explicitly set the auth-subscriptions parameter. When following such a recommendation, a new parameter can be introduced to explicitly disable authentication.
- Record
CVE-2021-41157- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-287, CWE-306
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2021-41157
5.3
FreeSWITCH is a Software Defined Telecom Stack enabling the digital transformation from proprietary telecom switches to a software implementation that runs on any commodity hardware. By default, SIP requests of the type SUBSCRIBE are not authenticated in the affected versions of FreeSWITCH. Abuse of this security issue allows attackers to subscribe to user agent event notifications without the need to authenticate. This abuse poses privacy concerns and might lead to social engineering or similar attacks. For example, attackers may be able to monitor the status of target SIP extensions. Although this issue was fixed in version v1.10.6, installations upgraded to the fixed version of FreeSWITCH from an older version, may still be vulnerable if the configuration is not updated accordingly. Software upgrades do not update the configuration by default. SIP SUBSCRIBE messages should be authenticated by default so that FreeSWITCH administrators do not need to explicitly set the auth-subscriptions parameter. When following such a recommendation, a new parameter can be introduced to explicitly disable authentication.
- Record
ALPINE-CVE-2021-41157- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
5.3
FreeSWITCH is a Software Defined Telecom Stack enabling the digital transformation from proprietary telecom switches to a software implementation that runs on any commodity hardware. By default, SIP requests of the type SUBSCRIBE are not authenticated in the affected versions of FreeSWITCH. Abuse of this security issue allows attackers to subscribe to user agent event notifications without the need to authenticate. This abuse poses privacy concerns and might lead to social engineering or similar attacks. For example, attackers may be able to monitor the status of target SIP extensions. Although this issue was fixed in version v1.10.6, installations upgraded to the fixed version of FreeSWITCH from an older version, may still be vulnerable if the configuration is not updated accordingly. Software upgrades do not update the configuration by default. SIP SUBSCRIBE messages should be authenticated by default so that FreeSWITCH administrators do not need to explicitly set the auth-subscriptions parameter. When following such a recommendation, a new parameter can be introduced to explicitly disable authentication.
- Record
CVE-2021-41157- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
freeswitchAlpine:v3.15 |
before 1.10.7-r0 | 1.10.7-r0 |
freeswitchAlpine:v3.16 |
before 1.10.7-r0 | 1.10.7-r0 |
freeswitchAlpine:v3.17 |
before 1.10.7-r0 | 1.10.7-r0 |
freeswitchAlpine:v3.18 |
before 1.10.7-r0 | 1.10.7-r0 |
freeswitchAlpine:v3.19 |
before 1.10.7-r0 | 1.10.7-r0 |
freeswitchAlpine:v3.20 |
before 1.10.7-r0 | 1.10.7-r0 |
freeswitchAlpine:v3.21 |
before 1.10.7-r0 | 1.10.7-r0 |
freeswitchAlpine:v3.22 |
before 1.10.7-r0 | 1.10.7-r0 |
freeswitchAlpine:v3.23 |
before 1.10.7-r0 | 1.10.7-r0 |
freeswitchAlpine:v3.24 |
before 1.10.7-r0 | 1.10.7-r0 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-41157 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.3) in Freeswitch, published October 26, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.70%, the 77th percentile. Fixed in freeswitch 1.10.7-r0.