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GoaheadApplication · Embedthis

CVE-2021-41615

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
websda.c in GoAhead WebServer 2.1.8 has insufficient nonce entropy because the nonce calculation relies on the hardcoded onceuponatimeinparadise value, which does not follow the secret-data guideline for HTTP Digest Access Authentication in RFC 7616 section 3.3 (or RFC 2617 section 3.2.1). NOTE: 2.1.8 is a version from 2003; however, the affected websda.c code appears in multiple derivative works that may be used in 2021. Recent GoAhead software is unaffected.

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

GoAhead WebServer 2.1.8 websda.c uses a hardcoded string 'onceuponatimeinparadise' when calculating nonces for HTTP Digest Access Authentication, making authentication predictable and bypassable. This violates RFC 7616/2617 guidelines requiring secret-based nonce generation. Although the original version is from 2003, the vulnerable code persists in derivative works.

MitigationReplace the hardcoded nonce value with a cryptographically secure random secret or server-managed session key, and audit derivative products for the same vulnerable code pattern.

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
GoaheadApplication
Affected:= 2.1.8

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. Identify GoAhead WebServer installation and version
    Locate the GoAhead WebServer binary or check the version information via the server's admin interface, or run 'goahead -v' or check the binary metadata
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.1.8
  2. Confirm HTTP Digest Access Authentication is in use
    Check the server configuration files (goahead.conf or similar) for 'auth' or 'digest' directives, or review the web application's authentication configuration
    Affected if HTTP Digest Access Authentication is enabled or configured on the server
  3. Search for the hardcoded nonce string in binaries or source
    Use strings command on the GoAhead binary or grep the source file websda.c for the literal string 'onceuponatimeinparadise'
    Affected if The string 'onceuponatimeinparadise' is found in the websda.c source or the compiled binary
  4. Audit derivative products for the same pattern
    If using a derivative or fork of GoAhead 2.1.8, search all authentication-related source files for hardcoded nonce or secret strings
    Affected if Derivative products contain the same hardcoded nonce pattern in authentication code

You are affected if GoAhead WebServer 2.1.8 is running with HTTP Digest Access Authentication enabled and the hardcoded nonce string 'onceuponatimeinparadise' is present in the code or binary.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Replace the hardcoded nonce value with a cryptographically secure random secret or server-managed session key, and audit derivative products for the same vulnerable code pattern.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable GoAhead WebServer (version 5.x or newer)

  1. 1. Identify all deployments using GoAhead WebServer version 2.1.8 or derivative works that contain the websda.c file with the hardcoded nonce.
  2. 2. Audit systems for the presence of the hardcoded value 'onceuponatimeinparadise' in any GoAhead or derivative web server implementations.
  3. 3. Replace all affected GoAhead 2.1.8 installations with a current, maintained version of GoAhead WebServer.
  4. 4. Verify that HTTP Digest Access Authentication is now using cryptographically secure, dynamic nonce generation.
  5. 5. Test authentication functionality to ensure the upgrade does not break existing digest authentication workflows.
Caveat Ensure compatibility with any custom configurations or dependent applications after upgrading

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

Fix this in Goahead Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
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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-2021-41615 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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