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NomadApplication · Hashicorp

CVE-2021-37218

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.10 / 1.1.4 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
HashiCorp Nomad and Nomad Enterprise Raft RPC layer allows non-server agents with a valid certificate signed by the same CA to access server-only functionality, enabling privilege escalation. Fixed in 1.0.10 and 1.1.4.

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

HashiCorp Nomad's Raft RPC layer does not properly enforce server-only function access controls, allowing any agent with a valid certificate signed by the trusted CA to invoke privileged server-level RPC commands, leading to privilege escalation from client/agent to server privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Nomad to version 1.0.10, 1.1.4, or later to patch the RPC authorization flaw. Alternatively, ensure strict certificate scoping to limit which certificates can access server-specific endpoints.

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
NomadApplication
Affected:< 1.0.10<= 1.0.10>= 1.1.1, < 1.1.4

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Determine installed Nomad version
    Run `nomad version` or check the Nomad binary/package version on all servers and agents in the cluster
    Affected if The version is lower than 1.0.10, equal to 1.0.10, or between 1.1.1 and 1.1.4 (inclusive of 1.1.3)
  2. Verify TLS or mTLS is configured
    Check Nomad configuration files for TLS-related settings such as `tls.enable`, `ca_file`, `cert_file`, `key_file`, or verify that the cluster uses certificates for agent communication
    Affected if TLS is enabled and agents use certificates signed by the cluster's trusted CA (this is a prerequisite for the vulnerability to be exploitable)
  3. Identify client agents in the cluster
    Run `nomad node status` to list all agents and their roles, or check Nomad configuration for client-mode agents defined with `client { enabled = true }`
    Affected if There are client/agent nodes enrolled in the cluster that hold valid certificates (these are the actors that could exploit the privilege escalation)
  4. Check certificate scoping configuration
    Review the certificate authority configuration and whether certificates are scoped to specific roles using Nomad's `限制` or similar role-limiting configuration options, if implemented
    Affected if Certificates are broadly issued without role restrictions, allowing any valid certificate-holding agent to attempt server-level RPC calls

You are affected if your Nomad version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND your cluster uses TLS with certificates that client agents can obtain, allowing them to invoke privileged server RPC commands.

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 1.0.10 / 1.1.4 or later
Fixed in 1.0.101.1.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Nomad to version 1.0.10, 1.1.4, or later to patch the RPC authorization flaw. Alternatively, ensure strict certificate scoping to limit which certificates can access server-specific endpoints.

Recommended fix High confidence

Nomad 1.0.10 (for 1.0.x branch) or Nomad 1.1.4 (for 1.1.x branch)

  1. Determine current Nomad version by running `nomad version`
  2. Identify which version branch you're on (1.0.x or 1.1.x) to select the appropriate fixed release
  3. If on 1.0.x branch: upgrade to Nomad 1.0.10
  4. If on 1.1.x branch: upgrade to Nomad 1.1.4
  5. Download the appropriate Nomad binary from https://www.nomadproject.io/downloads
  6. Replace the existing Nomad binary with the fixed version
  7. Restart Nomad agents (follow rolling restart procedure for cluster nodes)
  8. Verify upgrade by running `nomad version` and confirming the fix is applied
Caveat Minor version upgrades within the same major.minor are typically safe; review HashiCorp Nomad 1.0.10 and 1.1.4 release notes for any specific breaking changes or behavioral differences

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

Fix this in Nomad Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,544.

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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-2021-37218 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