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GoaheadApplication · Embedthis

CVE-2021-43298

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.1.4 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
The code that performs password matching when using 'Basic' HTTP authentication does not use a constant-time memcmp and has no rate-limiting. This means that an unauthenticated network attacker can brute-force the HTTP basic password, byte-by-byte, by recording the webserver's response time until the unauthorized (401) response.

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

The HTTP Basic authentication implementation uses a non-constant-time comparison algorithm for password matching, allowing attackers to deduce credentials byte-by-byte by measuring timing differences in server responses. Combined with the absence of rate-limiting, this enables efficient brute-force attacks with minimal noise.

MitigationReplace the password comparison function with a constant-time memcmp implementation and implement rate-limiting on authentication endpoints to block brute-force attempts.

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:< 5.1.4

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
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 Embedthis Goahead installation and version
    Run 'goahead -v' or check the installed package version using your system's package manager (e.g., 'dpkg -l | grep goahead', 'rpm -qi goahead', or check the binary version string)
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 5.1.4
  2. Confirm HTTP Basic authentication is in use
    Review the Goahead configuration file (typically 'goahead.conf' or similar) for 'Basic' authentication scheme settings under the route or endpoint definitions
    Affected if Basic authentication is enabled and configured for any endpoint
  3. Check if password validation is performed
    Inspect the route or handler configuration to confirm user authentication with password verification is active (look for user database or password file references in the config)
    Affected if The endpoint performs password-based authentication using the built-in mechanism
  4. Verify rate-limiting is absent on authentication endpoints
    Search the Goahead configuration for rate-limit, throttle, or similar settings applied to the authentication routes; also check server logs for signs of brute-force activity
    Affected if No rate-limiting or request throttling is configured on auth endpoints, and multiple rapid auth attempts are possible

You are affected if you run Embedthis Goahead version below 5.1.4 with HTTP Basic authentication enabled and no rate-limiting on authentication endpoints.

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 5.1.4 or later
Fixed in 5.1.4
Interim mitigation

Replace the password comparison function with a constant-time memcmp implementation and implement rate-limiting on authentication endpoints to block brute-force attempts.

Recommended fix High confidence

GoAhead 5.1.4 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of GoAhead using the binary or package manager
  2. 2. Download GoAhead version 5.1.4 or later from the official GitHub repository (https://github.com/embedthis/goahead)
  3. 3. Review the release notes for version 5.1.4 to confirm the security fix for CVE-2021-43298 is included
  4. 4. Backup the current GoAhead configuration files (typically in /etc/goahead/ or the application directory)
  5. 5. Stop the GoAhead service before upgrading
  6. 6. Install the new version using the appropriate method for your deployment (package manager, source compilation, or binary replacement)
  7. 7. Restore or update the configuration files as needed
  8. 8. Start the GoAhead service
Caveat Review release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and 5.1.4; minor version upgrades typically maintain configuration compatibility

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

Fix this in Goahead Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2021-43298 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