CVE-2024-21664 | Parsing JSON serialized payload without protected field can lead to segfault

Exp

jwx is a Go module implementing various JWx (JWA/JWE/JWK/JWS/JWT, otherwise known as JOSE) technologies. Calling `jws.Parse` with a JSON serialized payload where the `signature` field is present while `protected` is absent can lead to a nil pointer dereference. The vulnerability can be used to crash/DOS a system doing JWS verification. This vulnerability has been patched in versions 2.0.19 and 1.2.28.

Published: 2024-01-09 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2024-21664 is rated Exploit Available (51.7/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.86%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). 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-2024-21664

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2024-21664

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 0.18% 0.86% +0.69%
2 2026-01-21 0.13% 0.18% +0.05%
3 2025-11-21 — 0.13% —

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-21664

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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: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:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 2.8 1.4 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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: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.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-21664

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2024-21664

GHSA-pvcr-v8j8-j5q3 · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: go — Parsing JSON serialized payload without protected field can lead to segfault

OS Trackers for CVE-2024-21664

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-21664

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-21664

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
lestrrat-go jwx < 2.0.19 cpe:2.3:a:lestrrat-go:jwx:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-21664

cvelogic Threat Intelligence