CVE-2021-32840 | Path Traversal in SharpZipLib

Exp

SharpZipLib (or #ziplib) is a Zip, GZip, Tar and BZip2 library. Prior to version 1.3.3, a TAR file entry `../evil.txt` may be extracted in the parent directory of `destFolder`. This leads to arbitrary file write that may lead to code execution. The vulnerability was patched in version 1.3.3.

Published: 2022-01-26 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-32840 is rated High Exploit Risk (73.4/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.54%). 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-2021-32840

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-32840

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 2026-03-04 0.74% 1.54% +0.81%
2 2026-03-01 1.54% 0.74% -0.81%
3 2026-02-04 1.54%

Full EPSS history (57 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-32840

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.3 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
2.5 4.7 [email protected]
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]
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P 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:P)
Partial availability impact.
10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-32840

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-32840

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-32840

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2021-32840 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (mono), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-32840
ubuntu medium CVE-2021-32840 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (mono), 14 status rows across 14 suites (bionic, focal, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): ignored 5, not-affected 5, needs-triage 4. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-32840

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-32840

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
sharpziplib_project sharpziplib < 1.3.3 cpe:2.3:a:sharpziplib_project:sharpziplib:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-32840

cvelogic Threat Intelligence