How severe is CVE-2021-37941?

CVE-2021-37941 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2021-37941 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (11th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2021-37941?

CVE-2021-37941 affects Elastic Apm Agent. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2021-37941?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2021-37941 published?

CVE-2021-37941 was published on 2021-12-08 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2021-37941

CVE-2021-37941 is a high-severity vulnerability in Elastic Apm Agent with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. 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-269.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.8)
CVSS v2: 4.4
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (11th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-269
Affected product: Elastic Apm Agent
Published: 2021-12-08
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A local privilege escalation issue was found with the APM Java agent, where a user on the system could attach a malicious file to an application running with the APM Java agent. Using this vector, a malicious or compromised user account could use the agent to run commands at a higher level of permissions than they possess. This vulnerability affects users that have set up the agent via the attacher cli 3, the attach API 2, as well as users that have enabled the profiling_inferred_spans_enabled option

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-37941?: A local privilege escalation issue was found with the APM Java agent, where a user on the system could attach a malicious file to an application running with the APM Java agent. Using this vector, a malicious or compromised user account could use the agent to run commands at a higher level of permissions than they possess. This vulnerability affects users that have set up the agent via the attacher cli 3, the attach API 2, as well as users that have enabled the profiling_inferred_spans_enabled option
How severe is CVE-2021-37941?: CVE-2021-37941 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2021-37941 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (11th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2021-37941?: CVE-2021-37941 affects Elastic Apm Agent. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2021-37941?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2021-37941 published?: CVE-2021-37941 was published on 2021-12-08 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://discuss.elastic.co/t/apm-java-agent-security-update/289627

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:elastic:apm_agent:*:*:*:*:*:java:*:*

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