CVE-2021-41278 [Medium] | Security Vulnerability in App Service Configurable

Functions SDK for EdgeX is meant to provide all the plumbing necessary for developers to get started in processing/transforming/exporting data out of the EdgeX IoT platform. In affected versions broken encryption in app-functions-sdk “AES” transform in EdgeX Foundry releases prior to Jakarta allows attackers to decrypt messages via unspecified vectors. The app-functions-sdk exports an “aes” transform that user scripts can optionally call to encrypt data in the processing pipeline. No decrypt function is provided. Encryption is not enabled by default, but if used, the level of protection may be less than the user may expects due to a broken implementation. Version v2.1.0 (EdgeX Foundry Jakarta release and later) of app-functions-sdk-go/v2 deprecates the “aes” transform and provides an improved “aes256” transform in its place. The broken implementation will remain in a deprecated state until it is removed in the next EdgeX major release to avoid breakage of existing software that depends on the broken implementation. As the broken transform is a library function that is not invoked by default, users who do not use the AES transform in their processing pipelines are unaffected. Those that are affected are urged to upgrade to the Jakarta EdgeX release and modify processing pipelines to use the new "aes256" transform.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2023-03-07	0.89%	0.06%	-0.82%
2	2022-04-01	5.25%	0.89%	-4.36%
3	2022-02-04	—	5.25%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2023-03-07

0.89%

0.06%

-0.82%

2022-04-01

5.25%

0.89%

-4.36%

2022-02-04

—

5.25%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
5.7	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. 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:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:N) Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged. Availability (A:N) Service keeps running; no real outage angle.	2.1	3.6	[email protected]
5.4	3.0	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/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:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. 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:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:L) Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes. Availability (A:N) Service keeps running; no real outage angle.	1.2	4.2	[email protected]
2.6	2.0	LOW	`AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:H) Exploitation requires uncommon or highly specific conditions. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:P) Partial confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:N) No integrity impact. Availability impact (A:N) No availability impact.	4.9	2.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

5.7

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N): Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N): Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

2.1

3.6

[email protected]

5.4

3.0

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/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:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:L): Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N): Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

1.2

4.2

[email protected]

2.6

2.0

LOW

AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:H): Exploitation requires uncommon or highly specific conditions.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P): Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N): No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N): No availability impact.

4.9

2.9

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-41278

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
edgexfoundry	app_service_configurable	< 2.1.0	cpe:2.3:a:edgexfoundry:app_service_configurable::::::go::*
edgexfoundry	application_functions_software_development_kit	< 2.1.0	cpe:2.3:a:edgexfoundry:application_functions_software_development_kit::::::go::*
edgexfoundry	edgex_foundry	< 2.1.0	cpe:2.3:a:edgexfoundry:edgex_foundry::::::::

References for CVE-2021-41278

URL	Tags
https://github.com/edgexfoundry/app-functions-sdk-go/commit/8fa13c6388ce76a6b878b54490eac61aa7d81165	Patch Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/edgexfoundry/app-functions-sdk-go/security/advisories/GHSA-6c7m-qwxj-mvhp	Third Party Advisory

URL

CVE-2021-41278 | Broken encryption in app-functions-sdk “AES” transform in EdgeX Foundry releases prior to Jakarta allows attackers to decrypt messages via unspecified vectors

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-41278

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-41278

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-41278

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-41278

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-41278

References for CVE-2021-41278