CVE-2021-21309

CVE-2021-21309 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Redislabs Redis with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.4. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-190.

Key facts

Description

Redis is an open-source, in-memory database that persists on disk. In affected versions of Redis an integer overflow bug in 32-bit Redis version 4.0 or newer could be exploited to corrupt the heap and potentially result with remote code execution. Redis 4.0 or newer uses a configurable limit for the maximum supported bulk input size. By default, it is 512MB which is a safe value for all platforms. If the limit is significantly increased, receiving a large request from a client may trigger several integer overflow scenarios, which would result with buffer overflow and heap corruption. We believe this could in certain conditions be exploited for remote code execution. By default, authenticated Redis users have access to all configuration parameters and can therefore use the “CONFIG SET proto-max-bulk-len” to change the safe default, making the system vulnerable. **This problem only affects 32-bit Redis (on a 32-bit system, or as a 32-bit executable running on a 64-bit system).** The problem is fixed in version 6.2, and the fix is back ported to 6.0.11 and 5.0.11. Make sure you use one of these versions if you are running 32-bit Redis. An additional workaround to mitigate the problem without patching the redis-server executable is to prevent clients from directly executing `CONFIG SET`: Using Redis 6.0 or newer, ACL configuration can be used to block the command. Using older versions, the `rename-command` configuration directive can be used to rename the command to a random string unknown to users, rendering it inaccessible. Please note that this workaround may have an additional impact on users or operational systems that expect `CONFIG SET` to behave in certain ways.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-21309?
Redis is an open-source, in-memory database that persists on disk. In affected versions of Redis an integer overflow bug in 32-bit Redis version 4.0 or newer could be exploited to corrupt the heap and potentially result with remote code execution. Redis 4.0 or newer uses a configurable limit for the maximum supported bulk input size. By default, it is 512MB which is a safe value for all platforms. If the limit is significantly increased, receiving a large request from a client may trigger several integer overflow scenarios, which would result with buffer overflow and heap corruption. We believe this could in certain conditions be exploited for remote code execution. By default, authenticated Redis users have access to all configuration parameters and can therefore use the “CONFIG SET proto-max-bulk-len” to change the safe default, making the system vulnerable. **This problem only affects 32-bit Redis (on a 32-bit system, or as a 32-bit executable running on a 64-bit system).** The problem is fixed in version 6.2, and the fix is back ported to 6.0.11 and 5.0.11. Make sure you use one of these versions if you are running 32-bit Redis. An additional workaround to mitigate the problem without patching the redis-server executable is to prevent clients from directly executing `CONFIG SET`: Using Redis 6.0 or newer, ACL configuration can be used to block the command. Using older versions, the `rename-command` configuration directive can be used to rename the command to a random string unknown to users, rendering it inaccessible. Please note that this workaround may have an additional impact on users or operational systems that expect `CONFIG SET` to behave in certain ways.
How severe is CVE-2021-21309?
CVE-2021-21309 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.4, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity low, and availability low.
Is CVE-2021-21309 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 5% (91st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2021-21309?
CVE-2021-21309 affects Redislabs Redis. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2021-21309?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2021-21309 published?
CVE-2021-21309 was published on 2021-02-26 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

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