CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-39132 — Rundeck is an open source automation service with a web console, command line tools and a WebAPI

High CVSS 8.8

Rundeck is an open source automation service with a web console, command line tools and a WebAPI. Prior to version 3.3.14 and version 3.4.3, an authorized user can upload a zip-format plugin with a crafted plugin.yaml, or a crafted aclpolicy yaml file, or upload an untrusted project archive with a crafted aclpolicy yaml file, that can cause the server to run untrusted code on Rundeck Community or Enterprise Edition. An authenticated user can make a POST request, that can cause the server to run untrusted code on Rundeck Enterprise Edition. The zip-format plugin issues requires authentication and authorization to these access levels, and affects all Rundeck editions:`admin` level access to the `system` resource type. The ACL Policy yaml file upload issues requires authentication and authorization to these access levels, and affects all Rundeck editions: `create` `update` or `admin` level access to a `project_acl` resource, and/or`create` `update` or `admin` level access to the `system_acl` resource. The unauthorized POST request requires authentication, but no specific authorization, and affects Rundeck Enterprise only. Patches are available in versions 3.4.3, 3.3.14

Severity
High
CVSS
8.8 (3.1)
Published
2021-08-30
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-502

Affected products

  • pagerduty / rundeck

Showing 1 representative product identities from 4 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Unsafe deserialization and object reconstruction

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Check exposure

  • Inventory serialization formats accepted from requests, queues, caches, files, cookies, and cross-service messages.
  • Trace whether untrusted input can select classes, types, callbacks, constructors, or object hooks during decoding.
  • Identify signing, schema validation, trust-boundary, and compatibility settings for each decoder.

Remediate safely

  • Replace native object deserialization with a data-only format and explicit schema validation.
  • If replacement is not immediate, use a safe decoder with a minimal type allowlist and disable polymorphic or executable hooks.
  • Update the affected library and add inert tests for unknown types, extra fields, malformed nesting, and unsigned data.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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