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StormApplication · Apache

CVE-2021-40865

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.2.4 / 2.1.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS 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
An Unsafe Deserialization vulnerability exists in the worker services of the Apache Storm supervisor server allowing pre-auth Remote Code Execution (RCE). Apache Storm 2.2.x users should upgrade to version 2.2.1 or 2.3.0. Apache Storm 2.1.x users should upgrade to version 2.1.1. Apache Storm 1.x users should upgrade to version 1.2.4

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

An Unsafe Deserialization vulnerability exists in the worker services of the Apache Storm supervisor server, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system. The vulnerability is present in the deserialization of untrusted data within the supervisor's worker service component.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Storm to version 2.2.1 or 2.3.0 for 2.2.x users, 2.1.1 for 2.1.x users, or 1.2.4 for 1.x users to address this pre-authentication RCE vulnerability.

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
StormApplication
Affected:>= 1.0.0, < 1.2.4>= 2.1.0, < 2.1.1>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.1

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. Determine Apache Storm installed version
    Run 'storm version' from the Storm installation directory, or check the VERSION file in the Storm home directory
    Affected if The version number is >= 1.0.0 and < 1.2.4, OR >= 2.1.0 and < 2.1.1, OR >= 2.2.0 and < 2.2.1
  2. Confirm supervisor worker service is enabled
    Check the Storm configuration file (storm.yaml or defaults.yaml) for 'supervisor.enable' setting set to true, or verify the supervisor process is running
    Affected if The supervisor worker service is running and enabled on the system
  3. Identify network exposure of supervisor ports
    Review storm.yaml for 'supervisor.slots.ports' configuration and check which network interfaces the supervisor binds to (look for 'supervisor.address' or 'nimbus.seeds' settings that affect networking)
    Affected if The supervisor worker service is bound to a network-accessible interface rather than localhost only
  4. Check for unauthenticated access to worker service
    Examine Storm security configuration in storm.yaml for 'nimbus.authorizer' and 'supervisor.authorizer' settings - if these are unset or set to 'org.apache.storm.security.authorization.SimpleACLAuthorizer' without proper ACL configuration, the service may accept unauthenticated requests
    Affected if No strong authentication or authorization is configured for the supervisor worker service, allowing unauthenticated deserialization calls

You are affected if your Apache Storm version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND the supervisor worker service is network-accessible without proper authentication controls in place.

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 1.2.4 / 2.1.1 / 2.2.1 or later
Fixed in 1.2.42.1.12.2.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Storm to version 2.2.1 or 2.3.0 for 2.2.x users, 2.1.1 for 2.1.x users, or 1.2.4 for 1.x users to address this pre-authentication RCE vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.x → 1.2.4; 2.1.x → 2.1.1; 2.2.x → 2.2.1 or 2.3.0

  1. 1. Identify the currently running Apache Storm version (check storm.yaml or use 'storm version' command)
  2. 2. If running 1.x version (< 1.2.4), plan upgrade to version 1.2.4
  3. 3. If running 2.1.x version (< 2.1.1), plan upgrade to version 2.1.1
  4. 4. If running 2.2.x version (< 2.2.1), plan upgrade to version 2.2.1 or 2.3.0
  5. 5. Download the appropriate fixed release from Apache Storm's official download page (https://storm.apache.org/downloads.html)
  6. 6. Stop all Storm services (Nimbus, Supervisors, Workers, and UI) gracefully
  7. 7. Back up the Storm configuration directory (typically $STORM_HOME/conf) and any custom topologies
  8. 8. Install the new version, preserving the existing configuration files
Caveat Review release notes for your version branch to check for any breaking changes between your current and target version

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

Fix this in Storm Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2021-40865 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