Apk ToolsOperating system · Alpinelinux
CVE-2021-30139
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn Alpine Linux apk-tools before 2.12.5, the tarball parser allows a buffer overflow and crash.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the tarball parser of apk-tools, the package manager for Alpine Linux, affecting versions prior to 2.12.5. This memory corruption issue can be triggered during package installation operations, potentially allowing denial of service through crashes or potentially remote code execution given the CVSS 7.5 severity.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Apk ToolsOperating system
< 2.10.6>= 2.12.0, < 2.12.5CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Alpine Linux environmentRun 'cat /etc/os-release' and look for 'Alpine' in the NAME or ID fieldAffected if The system is not running Alpine Linux (apk-tools is only used on Alpine)
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Verify apk-tools is installedRun 'apk --version' or 'which apk'Affected if apk-tools is not installed on the system
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Retrieve installed apk-tools versionRun 'apk --version' and note the version number shown (format: apk-tools X.X.X)Affected if Unable to determine the version from command output
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Compare version against vulnerable rangesCheck if installed version is less than 2.10.6, OR greater than or equal to 2.12.0 but less than 2.12.5Affected if Version falls outside 2.10.6-2.12.0 range but is below 2.12.5 (specifically < 2.10.6 OR >= 2.12.0 AND < 2.12.5)
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Identify package installation activityReview system logs in /var/log/ or check for recent package installation commands using 'apk info' to list installed packagesAffected if Package installation operations have been performed (this is the trigger mechanism for the vulnerability)
User is affected if running Alpine Linux with apk-tools version less than 2.10.6 or between 2.12.0 and 2.12.5, and package installation operations have been performed.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data2.10.62.12.5
Upgrade apk-tools to version 2.12.5 or later via 'apk upgrade apk-tools' in Alpine Linux environments. Review and test package installation workflows post-upgrade.
Fix this in Apk Tools
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-30139 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-30139 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data