CVE-2021-21378 | JWT authentication bypass with unknown issuer token

Envoy is a cloud-native high-performance edge/middle/service proxy. In Envoy version 1.17.0 an attacker can bypass authentication by presenting a JWT token with an issuer that is not in the provider list when Envoy's JWT Authentication filter is configured with the `allow_missing` requirement under `requires_any` due to a mistake in implementation. Envoy's JWT Authentication filter can be configured with the `allow_missing` requirement that will be satisfied if JWT is missing (JwtMissed error) and fail if JWT is presented or invalid. Due to a mistake in implementation, a JwtUnknownIssuer error was mistakenly converted to JwtMissed when `requires_any` was configured. So if `allow_missing` was configured under `requires_any`, an attacker can bypass authentication by presenting a JWT token with an issuer that is not in the provider list. Integrity may be impacted depending on configuration if the JWT token is used to protect against writes or modifications. This regression was introduced on 2020/11/12 in PR 13839 which fixed handling `allow_missing` under RequiresAny in a JwtRequirement (see issue 13458). The AnyVerifier aggregates the children verifiers' results into a final status where JwtMissing is the default error. However, a JwtUnknownIssuer was mistakenly treated the same as a JwtMissing error and the resulting final aggregation was the default JwtMissing. As a result, `allow_missing` would allow a JWT token with an unknown issuer status. This is fixed in version 1.17.1 by PR 15194. The fix works by preferring JwtUnknownIssuer over a JwtMissing error, fixing the accidental conversion and bypass with `allow_missing`. A user could detect whether a bypass occurred if they have Envoy logs enabled with debug verbosity. Users can enable component level debug logs for JWT. The JWT filter logs will indicate that there is a request with a JWT token and a failure that the JWT token is missing.

Published: 2021-03-10 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-21378 is rated Moderate Risk (60.1/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.71%). Core evidence: EPSS rose +1.29% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-21378

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.42% 1.71% +1.29%
2 2025-11-21 0.47% 0.42% -0.05%
3 2025-11-18 0.47%

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-21378

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.2 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
3.9 4.2 [email protected]
8.2 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
3.9 4.2 [email protected]
6.4 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
10.0 4.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-21378

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-21378

vendor priority summary link
redhat high https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-21378

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-21378

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
envoyproxy envoy 1.17.0 cpe:2.3:a:envoyproxy:envoy:1.17.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-21378

cvelogic Threat Intelligence