CVE-2021-37615 | Null pointer dereference in Exiv2::Internal::resolveLens0x319

Exiv2 is a command-line utility and C++ library for reading, writing, deleting, and modifying the metadata of image files. A null pointer dereference was found in Exiv2 versions v0.27.4 and earlier. The null pointer dereference is triggered when Exiv2 is used to print the metadata of a crafted image file. An attacker could potentially exploit the vulnerability to cause a denial of service, if they can trick the victim into running Exiv2 on a crafted image file. Note that this bug is only triggered when printing the interpreted (translated) data, which is a less frequently used Exiv2 operation that requires an extra command line option (`-p t` or `-P t`). The bug is fixed in version v0.27.5.

Published: 2021-08-09 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-37615 is rated Low Risk (27.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.08%). 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-2021-37615

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 2025-11-21 0.22% 0.08% -0.14%
2 2025-11-18 0.06% 0.22% +0.17%
3 2023-03-07 — 0.06% —

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-37615

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H 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: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:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
 1.0 3.6 [email protected]
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H 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:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
 1.8 3.6 [email protected]
4.3 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/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:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.6 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-37615

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-37615

vendor priority summary link
alpine medium CVE-2021-37615: 1 source package rows (exiv2); 20 state rows across 8 repos (3.11-main, 3.17-community, 3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 7, open 13. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2021-37615
debian not yet assigned CVE-2021-37615 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (exiv2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-37615
gentoo high CVE-2021-37615: 1 GLSA(s) (202312-06), 1 atom(s) (media-gfx/exiv2); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2021-37615
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-37615
suse low CVE-2021-37615 severity low: SUSE including 15 source package names (exiv2, exiv2-0.27.5-8.1, …), 106 product×package rows across 52 product lines (HPE Helion OpenStack 8, SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0, … (52 product lines)): Will Not Fix 94, Fixed 8, Known Not Affected 4. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-37615/
ubuntu medium CVE-2021-37615 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (exiv2), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, hirsute, impish, jammy, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 4, not-affected 2, DNE 1, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-37615

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-37615

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
exiv2 exiv2 <= 0.27.4 cpe:2.3:a:exiv2:exiv2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 33 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 34 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-37615

cvelogic Threat Intelligence