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Bridgecrew CheckovApplication · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2021-3035

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.0.26 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
An unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Bridgecrew Checkov by Prisma Cloud allows arbitrary code execution when processing a malicious terraform file. This issue impacts Checkov 2.0 versions earlier than Checkov 2.0.26. Checkov 1.0 versions are not impacted.

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 · high confidence

An unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Bridgecrew Checkov allows arbitrary code execution when processing a maliciously crafted terraform file. The vulnerability stems from Checkov 2.0 deserializing untrusted data without proper validation, enabling remote code execution on the machine running Checkov. This is a classic unsafe deserialization flaw where attacker-controlled terraform files can trigger code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Checkov to version 2.0.26 or later to remediate the unsafe deserialization vulnerability. Verify that any automated CI/CD pipelines or local environments running Checkov are updated accordingly.

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
Bridgecrew CheckovApplication
Affected:>= 2.0.0, < 2.0.26

CVSS 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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Checkov is installed
    Run `pip show checkov` or `checkov --version` to see if Bridgecrew Checkov is present on the system
    Affected if Checkov is not installed means not affected by this CVE
  2. Find the installed Checkov version
    Run `pip show checkov` and look for the Version field, or run `checkov --version`
    Affected if The version shown is within the range >= 2.0.0 and < 2.0.26
  3. Compare against affected version range
    If the installed version is 2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, ..., or 2.0.25, the environment is running a vulnerable version. Version 2.0.26 and later are patched.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.0.0 through 2.0.25 inclusive

If Checkov version is 2.0.0 through 2.0.25, the environment is vulnerable because Checkov deserializes terraform file data without validation in these versions, enabling arbitrary code execution.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.0.26 or later
Fixed in 2.0.26
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Checkov to version 2.0.26 or later to remediate the unsafe deserialization vulnerability. Verify that any automated CI/CD pipelines or local environments running Checkov are updated accordingly.

Fix this in Bridgecrew Checkov Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-3035 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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