Denial of service due to assertion failure in crwimage_int.cpp
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-617.
Summary
Exiv2 is a command-line utility and C++ library for reading, writing, deleting, and modifying the metadata of image files. The assertion failure is triggered when Exiv2 is used to modify the metadata of a crafted image file. An attacker could potentially exploit the vulnerability to cause a denial of service, if they can trick the victim into running Exiv2 on a crafted image file. Note that this bug is only triggered when modifying the metadata, which is a less frequently used Exiv2 operation than reading the metadata. For example, to trigger the bug in the Exiv2 command-line application, you need to add an extra command-line argument such as `fi`. ### Patches The bug is fixed in version v0.27.5. ### References Regression test and bug fix: #1739 ### For more information Please see our [security policy](https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/security/policy) for information about Exiv2 security.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exiv2 | exiv2 | before 0.27.5 | 0.27.5 | Patch available | CNA |
- exiv2 VendorExiv2 Affected before 0.27.5 Fixed in 0.27.5 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:exiv2:exiv2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | up to 0.27.4 | Vulnerable | Exiv2 |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 33 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 34 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 10.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
- cpe:2.3:a:exiv2:exiv2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 0.27.4 Vulnerable ·Exiv2
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 33 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 34 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 10.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
Remediation
- Fix · CNA exiv2 (Exiv2) Fixed in 0.27.5
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-32815
References
More Exiv2 vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-13478 Buffer Overflow vulnerability in tEXtToDataBuf function in pngimage.cpp in Exiv2 0.27.1… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2025-19560 Use After Free in Exiv2 CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2020-13491 An uncontrolled memory allocation in DataBufdata(subBox.length-sizeof(box)) function of… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2018-08245 Exiv2 0.26 has a heap-based buffer overflow in getData in preview.cpp. CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2025-33923 Exiv2 Segmentation Faults in Exiv2::EpsImage::writeMetadata() via crafted EPS file CVSS 4.0LOW 1.8
- TI-2019-06608 An issue was discovered in Exiv2 0.27. CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2021-32815 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-32815 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- CVE-2021-32815 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences