CVE-2021-32753
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 · uneditedEdgeX Foundry is an open source project for building a common open framework for internet-of-things edge computing. A vulnerability exists in the Edinburgh, Fuji, Geneva, and Hanoi versions of the software. When the EdgeX API gateway is configured for OAuth2 authentication and a proxy user is created, the client_id and client_secret required to obtain an OAuth2 authentication token are set to the username of the proxy user. A remote network attacker can then perform a dictionary-based password attack on the OAuth2 token endpoint of the API gateway to obtain an OAuth2 authentication token and use that token to make authenticated calls to EdgeX microservices from an untrusted network. OAuth2 is the default authentication method in EdgeX Edinburgh release. The default authentication method was changed to JWT in Fuji and later releases. Users should upgrade to the EdgeX Ireland release to obtain the fix. The OAuth2 authentication method is disabled in Ireland release. If unable to upgrade and OAuth2 authentication is required, users should create OAuth2 users directly using the Kong admin API and forgo the use of the `security-proxy-setup` tool to create OAuth2 users.
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 confidenceIn EdgeX Foundry Edinburgh through Hanoi releases, when OAuth2 authentication is configured via the security-proxy-setup tool, the client_id and client_secret are set to the proxy username instead of being randomly generated. This allows a remote attacker to perform dictionary attacks against the OAuth2 token endpoint to obtain valid authentication tokens and access EdgeX microservices from untrusted networks.
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>= 1.0.0, < 2.0.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
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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Identify EdgeX Foundry versionLocate and check the installed EdgeX Foundry version using the system's package manager, container labels, or deployment manifestsAffected if version is 1.x (between 1.0.0 and 2.0.0, Edinburgh through Hanoi releases)
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Confirm OAuth2 is in useCheck whether OAuth2 authentication is enabled for the EdgeX API Gateway by reviewing the security-proxy-setup configuration or Kong proxy settingsAffected if OAuth2 authentication is configured for the EdgeX API Gateway
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Verify OAuth2 was configured via security-proxy-setupReview the deployment or configuration history to determine if the security-proxy-setup tool was used to create OAuth2 clientsAffected if security-proxy-setup tool was used to configure OAuth2 authentication
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Inspect OAuth2 client credentialsQuery the OAuth2 client configuration in Kong (via Kong admin API) to examine the client_id and compare it to the proxy username used during setupAffected if client_id matches the proxy username instead of being a randomly generated value
User is affected if running EdgeX Foundry 1.x with OAuth2 configured via the security-proxy-setup tool, where the OAuth2 client_id equals the proxy username rather than a random value.
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 data2.0.0
Upgrade to EdgeX Ireland release where OAuth2 is disabled by default, or if OAuth2 is required, create OAuth2 users directly using the Kong admin API rather than the security-proxy-setup tool.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-32753 — 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-2021-32753 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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