CVE-2021-44230
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 · uneditedPortSwigger Burp Suite Enterprise Edition before 2021.11 on Windows has weak file permissions for the embedded H2 database, which might lead to privilege escalation. This issue can be exploited by an adversary who has already compromised a valid Windows account on the server via separate means. In this scenario, the compromised account may have inherited read access to sensitive configuration, database, and log files.
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 confidenceBurp Suite Enterprise Edition before version 2021.11 on Windows contains weak file permissions for the embedded H2 database, configuration files, and log files. A Windows user who has already compromised an account on the server can read sensitive files due to overly permissive inherited access controls, enabling privilege escalation.
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<= 2021.11CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Burp Suite Enterprise Edition versionOpen the Burp Suite Enterprise Edition web interface, go to the 'System' or 'About' section, or check the installer/ executable properties to find the installed version numberAffected if The version number is 2021.11 or earlier (any version up to and including 2021.11)
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Locate H2 database filesSearch the Burp Suite installation directory for files with .h2.db, .mv.db, or .trace.db extensions, or files named 'burp' with database extensionsAffected if H2 database files exist and are found in the installation directory or data directory
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Check file permissions on H2 database filesRight-click each H2 database file, select Properties, go to the Security tab, and examine the 'Group or user names' list. Check if Users, Everyone, or other non-admin groups have Read or Full Control permissions beyond what is necessaryAffected if Non-administrator users or groups have Read, Write, or Full Control access to the H2 database files
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Check file permissions on configuration filesIn the Burp Suite installation directory, locate configuration files (such as .xml, .properties, .json, or config directories). Right-click each, check Properties, Security tab, and review permissionsAffected if Non-administrator users or groups have Read or greater permissions on configuration files containing credentials or sensitive settings
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Check file permissions on log filesIn the Burp Suite installation directory, locate log files (typically in a 'logs' or 'var' subdirectory). Right-click each log file, check Properties, Security tab, and review permissionsAffected if Non-administrator users or groups have Read access to log files that may contain sensitive data
If the installed version is 2021.11 or earlier AND any sensitive files (H2 database, config, logs) are readable by non-administrator Windows users, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedUpgrade to Burp Suite Enterprise Edition 2021.11 or later, which implements proper file permission restrictions on the H2 database and associated sensitive files.
Burp Suite Enterprise Edition 2021.11 or later
- 1. Verify current Burp Suite Enterprise Edition version by checking the About section in the product UI
- 2. Download Burp Suite Enterprise Edition version 2021.11 or later from the official PortSwigger website (portswigger.net)
- 3. Review PortSwigger's release notes for version 2021.11 to confirm the security fix for the weak file permissions issue
- 4. Create a backup of existing Burp Suite configuration, database, and log files before upgrading
- 5. Stop the Burp Suite Enterprise Edition service on Windows
- 6. Install the new version (2021.11 or later) following PortSwigger's standard installation procedures
- 7. Verify that the new installation has proper file permissions on the H2 database files (the fix addresses weak permissions)
- 8. Start the Burp Suite Enterprise Edition service and confirm normal operation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-44230 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-44230 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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