CVE-2021-29495 | Nim stdlib httpClient does not validate peer certificates by default

Nim is a statically typed compiled systems programming language. In Nim standard library before 1.4.2, httpClient SSL/TLS certificate verification was disabled by default. Users can upgrade to version 1.4.2 to receive a patch or, as a workaround, set "verifyMode = CVerifyPeer" as documented.

Published: 2021-05-07 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-29495 is rated Low Risk (33.8/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.11%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2021-29495

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 2025-10-25 0.24% 0.11% -0.14%
2 2025-08-28 0.07% 0.24% +0.17%
3 2023-03-07 0.07%

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-29495

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.9 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.2 3.6 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]
5.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/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:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
10.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-29495

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-29495

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2021-29495 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (nim), 4 status rows across 4 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid): resolved 4. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-29495
ubuntu medium CVE-2021-29495 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (nim), 14 status rows across 14 suites (bionic, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 7, ignored 2, needed 2, DNE 1, needs-triage 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-29495

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-29495

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
nim-lang nim < 1.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:nim-lang:nim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-29495

cvelogic Threat Intelligence