CVE-2021-33923
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 · uneditedInsecure permissions in Confluent Ansible (cp-ansible) 5.5.0, 5.5.1, 5.5.2 and 6.0.0 allows local attackers to access some sensitive information (private keys, state database).
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 confidenceThe cp-ansible playbooks create sensitive files (private keys, state database) with insecure permissions (likely 644 or similar world-readable settings) during deployment. This allows any local user on the system to read these sensitive files, enabling information disclosure or potential credential compromise.
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= 5.5.0= 5.5.1= 5.5.2= 6.0.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 cp-ansible usageCheck for ansible-playbook command history, look for playbooks directory, or search for cp-ansible related files in the deployment repositoryAffected if cp-ansible playbooks were used to deploy Confluent Platform
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Check cp-ansible versionInspect the installed or referenced cp-ansible version in your deployment (requirements.yml, galaxy metadata, or the playbooks themselves)Affected if The version is 5.5.0, 5.5.1, 5.5.2, or 6.0.0
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Inspect private key file permissionsLocate SSL private key files (typically in /etc/kafka/secrets/ or /var/lib/confluent/secrets/) and run 'ls -la' to check permissionsAffected if Private key files have permissions 644, 655, or other world-readable settings (any permission ending in 4 or 6 for others/group)
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Inspect state database file permissionsFind the state database or any credential/state files created during deployment and check their permissions with 'ls -la'Affected if State database or sensitive files have permissions 644 or similar world-readable settings
If cp-ansible versions 5.5.0 through 6.0.0 were used and any private keys or sensitive files have world-readable permissions (644 or similar), the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataUpdate Ansible playbooks to set restrictive permissions (600 or 640) on all private keys and sensitive files using the 'mode' attribute, and verify permissions are correctly applied post-deployment.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-33923 — 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-2021-33923 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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- 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