CVE-2021-32489

Exp

An issue was discovered in the _send_secure_msg() function of Yubico yubihsm-shell through 2.0.3. The function does not correctly validate the embedded length field of an authenticated message received from the device because response_msg.st.len=8 can be accepted but triggers an integer overflow, which causes CRYPTO_cbc128_decrypt (in OpenSSL) to encounter an undersized buffer and experience a segmentation fault. The yubihsm-shell project is included in the YubiHSM 2 SDK product.

Published: 2021-05-10 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-32489 is rated Exploit Available (52/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.92%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). 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-2021-32489

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-32489

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 0.99% 0.92% -0.07%
2 2025-11-21 0.77% 0.99% +0.22%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.77% —

Full EPSS history (15 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-32489

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 0.7 3.6 [email protected]
4.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 0.7 3.6 [email protected]
3.5 2.0 LOW
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 6.8 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-32489

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-32489

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
yubico yubihsm-shell <= 2.0.3 cpe:2.3:a:yubico:yubihsm-shell:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-32489

cvelogic Threat Intelligence