VulnerabilityPublished 7 Sep 2021Updated 30 May 2025

CVE-2021-38617

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 72% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:N/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:L/S:U/UI:N

Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Vector: Network
Availability: High
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Privileges Required: Low
Scope: Unchanged
User Interaction: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 7 Sep 2021
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
npmeigen-nlp`pkg:npm/eigen-nlp`Other threats	Affected =3.10.1	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2021-38617, European organizations should immediately audit their deployments of Eigen NLP 3.10.1 or any related versions to identify if the vulnerable endpoint /auth/v1/user/ is exposed and accessible. Restrict access to this endpoint by implementing strict access control mechanisms, such as role-based access control (RBAC), ensuring only authorized administrators can create super user accounts. If possible, disable or restrict the user creation endpoint until a vendor patch or update is available. Monitor logs for unusual user creation activities, especially the creation of accounts with elevated privileges. Employ network segmentation and firewall rules to limit access to the NLP service endpoints to trusted users and systems only. Additionally, enforce strong authentication and credential management policies to reduce the risk of compromised standard user accounts. If vendor patches or updates become available, prioritize their deployment. Finally, conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on privilege escalation vectors within NLP and related systems.

Description

In Eigen NLP 3.10.1, a lack of access control on the /auth/v1/user/ user creation endpoint allows a standard user to create a super user account with a defined password. This directly leads to privilege escalation.

Impact

For European organizations utilizing Eigen NLP 3.10.1, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. The ability for a standard user to escalate privileges to super user level can lead to complete compromise of the NLP system and any connected infrastructure. This could result in unauthorized access to sensitive data processed or stored by the system, manipulation or deletion of critical data, and disruption of NLP-dependent services. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and telecommunications—where NLP tools may be used for data analysis, customer interaction, or automated decision-making—are particularly vulnerable. The breach of confidentiality and integrity could lead to regulatory non-compliance under GDPR, resulting in legal and financial penalties. Moreover, the availability impact could disrupt business operations relying on NLP functionalities. Since the vulnerability requires only low privileges and no user interaction, insider threats or compromised standard accounts could easily exploit this flaw, increasing the risk profile for European enterprises.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 8 Jul 2025, 15:31 UTC

Technical details

References

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