CVE-2021-22538
Google LLC · published 2021-03-31
Source record Collected from the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
Description
Description by Google Inc. via the CVE Program.
A privilege escalation vulnerability impacting the Google Exposure Notification Verification Server (versions prior to 0.23.1), allows an attacker who (1) has UserWrite permissions and (2) is using a carefully crafted request or malicious proxy, to create another user with higher privileges than their own. This occurs due to insufficient checks on the allowed set of permissions. The new user creation event would be captured in the Event Log.
Status at the source
- NVD status: Modified
Affected products, as the source lists them
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Google LLC | Exposure Notifications Verification Server | stable – 0.23.0 and earlier: affected |
Products named in NVD's CPE match criteria (1)
cpe:2.3:a:google:exposure_notifications_verification_server:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
DeSpy has not checked any unit, hardware revision or firmware. A product missing here is not a statement that it is unaffected.
Scores, as their sources published them
- CVSS 3.1: 6.3 MEDIUM — as published by Google Inc. (Secondary)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L - CVSS 3.1: 8.8 HIGH — as published by NIST (Primary)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0: 6.5 MEDIUM — as published by NIST (Primary)
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P
DeSpy does not score records. These are the sources' own values.
Weaknesses
Sources
References the source lists
- https://github.com/google/exposure-notifications-verification-server/commit/eb8cf40b12dbe79304f1133c06fb73419383cd95
- https://github.com/google/exposure-notifications-verification-server/releases/tag/v0.23.1
- https://github.com/google/exposure-notifications-verification-server/releases/tag/v0.24.0
- https://github.com/google/exposure-notifications-verification-server/security/advisories/GHSA-5v95-v8c8-3rh6
- https://github.com/google/exposure-notifications-verification-server/commit/eb8cf40b12dbe79304f1133c06fb73419383cd95
- https://github.com/google/exposure-notifications-verification-server/releases/tag/v0.23.1
- https://github.com/google/exposure-notifications-verification-server/releases/tag/v0.24.0
- https://github.com/google/exposure-notifications-verification-server/security/advisories/GHSA-5v95-v8c8-3rh6
Source dates: published 2021-03-31, last changed 2026-06-17. DeSpy's copy of this version is dated 2026-09-28.
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
CVE records: Copyright © 1999-2026, The MITRE Corporation. CVE is a trademark and the CVE logo is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation.
CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE™). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.
CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and CISA Vulnrichment data are CC0 1.0. CISA advisories are shown with the TLP label their document carries. No endorsement by CISA, DHS, NIST or MITRE is stated or implied.