dbcve.org
Traffic ServerApplication · Apache

CVE-2021-37150

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Improper Input Validation vulnerability in header parsing of Apache Traffic Server allows an attacker to request secure resources. This issue affects Apache Traffic Server 8.0.0 to 9.1.2.

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 confidence

Improper input validation in Apache Traffic Server's header parsing allows attackers to bypass security controls and request protected resources they should not access. This vulnerability affects versions 8.0.0 through 9.1.2 and stems from insufficient validation of HTTP headers before processing.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Traffic Server to version 9.1.3 or later which contains the corrected input validation logic for header parsing.

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
Traffic ServerApplication
Affected:>= 8.0.0, <= 8.1.4>= 9.0.0, <= 9.1.2
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 11.0
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 35= 36

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Verify Apache Traffic Server is installed
    Run 'ats' or 'traffic_server' version command, or check package manager: 'dpkg -l | grep trafficserver' (Debian) or 'rpm -qa | grep trafficserver' (RHEL/Fedora)
    Affected if Apache Traffic Server is not installed on the system
  2. Determine installed version number
    Execute 'traffic_server --version' or 'traffic_ctl config get version' if available, or check installed package version via package manager
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or is not visible
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Check if the installed version falls within 8.0.0 to 8.1.4 OR 9.0.0 to 9.1.2
    Affected if Version is >= 8.0.0 and <= 8.1.4, OR >= 9.0.0 and <= 9.1.2
  4. Confirm service is running and processing HTTP traffic
    Check service status: 'systemctl status trafficserver' or 'ps aux | grep traffic_server' and verify the server is actively accepting connections
    Affected if Server is running and configured to process HTTP requests, making the header parsing vulnerability reachable

If Apache Traffic Server version is 8.0.0-8.1.4 or 9.0.0-9.1.2 and the service is running, the environment is affected by this input validation bypass.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 9.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Traffic Server to version 9.1.3 or later which contains the corrected input validation logic for header parsing.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Apache Traffic Server 9.2.0 or later (or 8.1.5+ if staying on 8.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Apache Traffic Server version using 'traffic_server -V' or checking package manager.
  2. 2. For Debian 10 and 11 users: Check for available updates via 'apt update' and 'apt list --upgradable' to see if a fixed package is available in the security repositories.
  3. 3. For Fedora 35 and 36 users: Run 'dnf check-update' to verify if a security update is available through Fedora's update channels.
  4. 4. If vendor packages are not available, download Apache Traffic Server 9.2.0 or later from the official Apache website: https://traffic.apache.org/downloads/
  5. 5. Before upgrading in production, test the new version in a staging environment to verify compatibility with your configuration.
  6. 6. Backup your Traffic Server configuration files (records.yaml, remap.config, and any custom plugins).
  7. 7. Install the upgraded version and restore your configuration.
  8. 8. Verify the service starts correctly and test that the header parsing vulnerability is resolved.
Caveat Review plugin compatibility as some plugins may require recompilation or updates for the new ATS version; configuration file format changes between major versions are possible

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Traffic Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37150 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-37150 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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