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CVE-2021-43821

Files Accessible to External Parties in Opencast

9.9 CriticalPublic exploitFix available

Opencast is an Open Source Lecture Capture & Video Management for Education. Opencast before version 9.10 or 10.6 allows references to local file URLs in ingested media packages, allowing attackers to include local files from Opencast's host machines and making them available via the web interface. Before Opencast 9.10 and 10.6, Opencast would open and include local files during ingests. Attackers could exploit this to include most local files the process has read access to, extracting secrets from the host machine. An attacker would need to have the privileges required to add new media to exploit this. But these are often widely given. The issue has been fixed in Opencast 10.6 and 11.0. You can mitigate this issue by narrowing down the read access Opencast has to files on the file system using UNIX permissions or mandatory access control systems like SELinux. This cannot prevent access to files Opencast needs to read though and we highly recommend updating.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
Low
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

2.03%Up 0.7 points since Dec 15, 2021
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 9.9

Files Accessible to External Parties in Opencast

Opencast is an Open Source Lecture Capture & Video Management for Education. Opencast before version 9.10 or 10.6 allows references to local file URLs in ingested media packages, allowing attackers to include local files from Opencast's host machines and making them available via the web interface. Before Opencast 9.10 and 10.6, Opencast would open and include local files during ingests. Attackers could exploit this to include most local files the process has read access to, extracting secrets from the host machine. An attacker would need to have the privileges required to add new media to exploit this. But these are often widely given. The issue has been fixed in Opencast 10.6 and 11.0. You can mitigate this issue by narrowing down the read access Opencast has to files on the file system using UNIX permissions or mandatory access control systems like SELinux. This cannot prevent access to files Opencast needs to read though and we highly recommend updating.

Record
CVE-2021-43821
CVSS 3.1
9.9 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-552
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-2446 9.9

Opencast is an Open Source Lecture Capture & Video Management for Education. Opencast before version 9.10 or 10.6 allows references to local file URLs in ingested media packages, allowing attackers to include local files from Opencast's host machines and making them available via the web interface. Before Opencast 9.10 and 10.6, Opencast would open and include local files during ingests. Attackers could exploit this to include most local files the process has read access to, extracting secrets from the host machine. An attacker would need to have the privileges required to add new media to exploit this. But these are often widely given. The issue has been fixed in Opencast 10.6 and 11.0. You can mitigate this issue by narrowing down the read access Opencast has to files on the file system using UNIX permissions or mandatory access control systems like SELinux. This cannot prevent access to files Opencast needs to read though and we highly recommend updating.

Record
EUVD-2021-2446
CVSS 3.1
9.9 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-59g4-hpg3-3gcp 9.9

Files Accessible to External Parties in Opencast

Opencast before version 10.6 allows references to local file URLs in ingested media packages, allowing attackers to include local files from Opencast's host machines and making them available via the web interface.

Impact

Before Opencast 10.6, Opencast would open and include local files during ingests. Attackers could exploit this to include most local files the process has read access to, extracting secrets from the host machine.

For example, to expose the custom.properties of develop.opencast.org via the asset manager, an attacker could have run:

curl -f -i -u admin:opencast \
  https://develop.opencast.org/ingest/addMediaPackage/fast \
  -F 'flavor=presenter/source'\
  -F mediaUri=file:///srv/opencast/opencast-dist-allinone/etc/custom.properties\
  -F title="custom.properties"  

An attacker would need to have the privileges required to add new media to exploit this. But these are often widely given.

Patches

The issue has been fixed in Opencast 10.6 and 11.0.

Workarounds

You can mitigate this issue by narrowing down the read access Opencast has to files on the file system using UNIX permissions or mandatory access control systems like SELinux. This cannot prevent access to files Opencast needs to read though and we highly recommend updating.

References

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Record
GHSA-59g4-hpg3-3gcp
CVSS 3.1
9.9 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-552
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 9.9

Opencast is an Open Source Lecture Capture & Video Management for Education. Opencast before version 9.10 or 10.6 allows references to local file URLs in ingested media packages, allowing attackers to include local files from Opencast's host machines and making them available via the web interface. Before Opencast 9.10 and 10.6, Opencast would open and include local files during ingests. Attackers could exploit this to include most local files the process has read access to, extracting secrets from the host machine. An attacker would need to have the privileges required to add new media to exploit this. But these are often widely given. The issue has been fixed in Opencast 10.6 and 11.0. You can mitigate this issue by narrowing down the read access Opencast has to files on the file system using UNIX permissions or mandatory access control systems like SELinux. This cannot prevent access to files Opencast needs to read though and we highly recommend updating.

Record
CVE-2021-43821
CVSS 3.1
9.9 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 3.1
7.7 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
CVSS 2.0
4.0 MediumAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N
Weakness
CWE-552
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 7.7

Opencast is an Open Source Lecture Capture & Video Management for Education. Opencast before version 9.10 or 10.6 allows references to local file URLs in ingested media packages, allowing attackers to include local files from Opencast's host machines and making them available via the web interface. Before Opencast 9.10 and 10.6, Opencast would open and include local files during ingests. Attackers could exploit this to include most local files the process has read access to, extracting secrets from the host machine. An attacker would need to have the privileges required to add new media to exploit this. But these are often widely given. The issue has been fixed in Opencast 10.6 and 11.0. You can mitigate this issue by narrowing down the read access Opencast has to files on the file system using UNIX permissions or mandatory access control systems like SELinux. This cannot prevent access to files Opencast needs to read though and we highly recommend updating.

Record
CVE-2021-43821
CVSS 3.1
7.7 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-59g4-hpg3-3gcp 9.9

Files Accessible to External Parties in Opencast

Opencast before version 10.6 allows references to local file URLs in ingested media packages, allowing attackers to include local files from Opencast's host machines and making them available via the web interface.

Impact

Before Opencast 10.6, Opencast would open and include local files during ingests. Attackers could exploit this to include most local files the process has read access to, extracting secrets from the host machine.

For example, to expose the custom.properties of develop.opencast.org via the asset manager, an attacker could have run:

curl -f -i -u admin:opencast \
  https://develop.opencast.org/ingest/addMediaPackage/fast \
  -F 'flavor=presenter/source'\
  -F mediaUri=file:///srv/opencast/opencast-dist-allinone/etc/custom.properties\
  -F title="custom.properties"  

An attacker would need to have the privileges required to add new media to exploit this. But these are often widely given.

Patches

The issue has been fixed in Opencast 10.6 and 11.0.

Workarounds

You can mitigate this issue by narrowing down the read access Opencast has to files on the file system using UNIX permissions or mandatory access control systems like SELinux. This cannot prevent access to files Opencast needs to read though and we highly recommend updating.

References

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Record
GHSA-59g4-hpg3-3gcp
CVSS 3.1
9.9 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-552
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
org.opencastproject:opencast-ingest-service-impl
Maven
before 10.6
10.6
org.opencastproject:opencast-ingest-service-impl
Maven
before 10.6, plus listed versions
10.010.110.210.310.4
Show 33 moreShow less
10.56.67.27.37.47.57.67.77.87.98.08.18.108.118.38.48.58.68.78.88.99.09.19.109.119.129.29.39.49.59.69.79.9
10.6

Public exploits

Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.

Public exploits
SourceLinkDate
PoC in GitHubJackey0/opencast-CVE-2021-43821-env2021-12-26

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2021-43821 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.9) in Apereo Opencast, published December 14, 2021. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.03%, the 81st percentile. Fixed in org.opencastproject:opencast-ingest-service-impl 10.6.

References

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