CVE-2021-42694

Exp

An issue was discovered in the character definitions of the Unicode Specification through 14.0. The specification allows an adversary to produce source code identifiers such as function names using homoglyphs that render visually identical to a target identifier. Adversaries can leverage this to inject code via adversarial identifier definitions in upstream software dependencies invoked deceptively in downstream software. NOTE: the Unicode Consortium offers the following alternative approach to presenting this concern. An issue is noted in the nature of international text that can affect applications that implement support for The Unicode Standard (all versions). Unless mitigated, an adversary could produce source code identifiers using homoglyph characters that render visually identical to but are distinct from a target identifier. In this way, an adversary could inject adversarial identifier definitions in upstream software that are not detected by human reviewers and are invoked deceptively in downstream software. The Unicode Consortium has documented this class of security vulnerability in its document, Unicode Technical Report #36, Unicode Security Considerations. The Unicode Consortium also provides guidance on mitigations for this class of issues in Unicode Technical Standard #39, Unicode Security Mechanisms.

Published: 2021-11-01 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-42694 is rated High Exploit Risk (74.8/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 4.49%, 90th percentile). 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-2021-42694

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-42694

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 12.45% 4.49% -7.96%
2 2026-06-12 8.24% 12.45% +4.21%
3 2026-04-27 8.24%

Full EPSS history (44 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-42694

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.3 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/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: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:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
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.
1.6 6.0 [email protected]
8.3 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/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: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:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
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.
1.6 6.0 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
5.1 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:H/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: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:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
4.9 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-42694

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-42694

vendor priority summary link
gentoo normal CVE-2021-42694: 1 GLSA(s) (202210-09), 2 atom(s) (dev-lang/rust, dev-lang/rust-bin); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2021-42694
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-42694

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-42694

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
unicode unicode < 14.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:unicode:unicode:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-42694

URL Tags
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/11/01/1 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/11/01/6 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode14.0.0/ Release Notes Vendor Advisory
https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1007.html Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202210-09 Third Party Advisory
https://trojansource.codes Third Party Advisory
https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/999008 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
https://www.scyon.nl/post/trojans-in-your-source-code Exploit Third Party Advisory
https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr36/ Technical Description Vendor Advisory
https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr39/ Technical Description Vendor Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence