dbcve.org
CycloneddsApplication · Eclipse

CVE-2021-38443

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.8.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Eclipse CycloneDDS versions prior to 0.8.0 improperly handle invalid structures, which may allow an attacker to write arbitrary values in the XML parser.

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

Eclipse CycloneDDS versions prior to 0.8.0 contain a vulnerability in their XML parser that improperly handles invalid structures, potentially allowing an attacker to write arbitrary values. This is a critical (CVSS 9.8) security flaw in the data distribution service implementation.

MitigationUpgrade Eclipse CycloneDDS to version 0.8.0 or later to address the XML parser vulnerability. Review all systems and applications using CycloneDDS to assess exposure and test the upgrade in a non-production environment before deployment.

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
CycloneddsApplication
Affected:< 0.8.0

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Locate CycloneDDS library in your environment
    Search for files named libcyclonedds.so, libcyclonedds.a, cyclonedds.dll, or cyclonedds.lib. Check application dependency lists, package managers, or installation directories where DDS libraries are commonly stored.
    Affected if CycloneDDS library is present on the system
  2. Identify the installed CycloneDDS version
    Run 'cycloneddsversion' if available, or inspect the library file metadata. Check package manager history (apt, yum, conan, vcpkg) for installed cyclonedds package version. Review build configuration or dependency files that specify the CycloneDDS version.
    Affected if The version is lower than 0.8.0 (e.g., 0.7.x, 0.6.x, or any pre-0.8.0 release)
  3. Check for XML configuration file usage
    Search for .xml files referenced in application configuration, environment variables (e.g., CYCLONEDDS_URI), or code that load CycloneDDS XML profiles. Look for patterns like '<participant>', '<publisher>', '<subscriber>' in configuration directories.
    Affected if XML configuration files are loaded by CycloneDDS applications - this is the attack surface for the parser vulnerability
  4. Identify applications or services using CycloneDDS
    Review application logs, build manifests, or container images for direct CycloneDDS usage. Check for DDS-related middleware imports or links in application binaries.
    Affected if Any application links to or loads a CycloneDDS version below 0.8.0

Your environment is affected if CycloneDDS version 0.8.0 or newer is not installed AND applications or services use CycloneDDS with XML configuration parsing enabled.

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 0.8.0 or later
Fixed in 0.8.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Eclipse CycloneDDS to version 0.8.0 or later to address the XML parser vulnerability. Review all systems and applications using CycloneDDS to assess exposure and test the upgrade in a non-production environment before deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

Eclipse CycloneDDS version 0.8.0 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current CycloneDDS version in use by checking your project's dependencies or installed packages
  2. 2. Update the CycloneDDS dependency in your build configuration (e.g., CMake, Maven, or package manager) to version 0.8.0 or later
  3. 3. Rebuild and test the application to ensure compatibility with the updated library
  4. 4. Verify the XML parser now properly rejects or handles invalid structures rather than allowing arbitrary value writes
  5. 5. Redeploy the updated application to all production environments

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

Fix this in Cyclonedds Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,840
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,144.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-38443 — 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-2021-38443 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