CVE-2021-27850 | Bypass of the fix for CVE-2019-0195

Exp

A critical unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability was found all recent versions of Apache Tapestry. The affected versions include 5.4.5, 5.5.0, 5.6.2 and 5.7.0. The vulnerability I have found is a bypass of the fix for CVE-2019-0195. Recap: Before the fix of CVE-2019-0195 it was possible to download arbitrary class files from the classpath by providing a crafted asset file URL. An attacker was able to download the file `AppModule.class` by requesting the URL `http://localhost:8080/assets/something/services/AppModule.class` which contains a HMAC secret key. The fix for that bug was a blacklist filter that checks if the URL ends with `.class`, `.properties` or `.xml`. Bypass: Unfortunately, the blacklist solution can simply be bypassed by appending a `/` at the end of the URL: `http://localhost:8080/assets/something/services/AppModule.class/` The slash is stripped after the blacklist check and the file `AppModule.class` is loaded into the response. This class usually contains the HMAC secret key which is used to sign serialized Java objects. With the knowledge of that key an attacker can sign a Java gadget chain that leads to RCE (e.g. CommonsBeanUtils1 from ysoserial). Solution for this vulnerability: * For Apache Tapestry 5.4.0 to 5.6.1, upgrade to 5.6.2 or later. * For Apache Tapestry 5.7.0, upgrade to 5.7.1 or later.

Published: 2021-04-15 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-27850 is rated High Exploit Risk (88.9/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 93.94%, 100th percentile). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2021-27850

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-27850

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 2026-06-08 94.22% 93.94% -0.28%
2 2025-11-21 93.35% 94.22% +0.87%
3 2025-11-18 93.35%

Full EPSS history (18 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-27850

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 5.9 [email protected]
10.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C 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:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
10.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-27850

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-27850

GHSA-mj8x-cpr8-x39h · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: maven — Remote code execution in Apache Tapestry

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-27850

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache tapestry >= 5.4.0, < 5.6.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tapestry:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tapestry >= 5.7.0, < 5.7.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tapestry:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-27850

cvelogic Threat Intelligence