CVE-2021-43268

An issue was discovered in VxWorks 6.9 through 7. In the IKE component, a specifically crafted packet may lead to reading beyond the end of a buffer, or a double free.

Published: 2021-11-24 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-43268 is rated Low Risk (32.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.07%). Mandatory action: 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-2021-43268

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 2023-03-07 3.58% 0.07% -3.51%
2 2022-04-01 4.50% 3.58% -0.92%
3 2022-02-04 4.50%

Full EPSS history (5 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-43268

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L 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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
3.9 2.5 [email protected]
6.4 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/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:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
10.0 4.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-43268

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-43268

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
windriver vxworks >= 6.9, <= 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:windriver:vxworks:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-43268

cvelogic Threat Intelligence