CVE-2021-32779

Incorrectly handling of URI '#fragment' element as part of the path element

Description

Envoy is an open source L7 proxy and communication bus designed for large modern service oriented architectures. In affected versions envoy incorrectly handled a URI '#fragment' element as part of the path element. Envoy is configured with an RBAC filter for authorization or similar mechanism with an explicit case of a final "/admin" path element, or is using a negative assertion with final path element of "/admin". The client sends request to "/app1/admin#foo". In Envoy prior to 1.18.0, or 1.18.0+ configured with path_normalization=false. Envoy treats fragment as a suffix of the query string when present, or as a suffix of the path when query string is absent, so it evaluates the final path element as "/admin#foo" and mismatches with the configured "/admin" path element. In Envoy 1.18.0+ configured with path_normalization=true. Envoy transforms this to /app1/admin%23foo and mismatches with the configured /admin prefix. The resulting URI is sent to the next server-agent with the offending "#foo" fragment which violates RFC3986 or with the nonsensical "%23foo" text appended. A specifically constructed request with URI containing '#fragment' element delivered by an untrusted client in the presence of path based request authorization resulting in escalation of Privileges when path based request authorization extensions. Envoy versions 1.19.1, 1.18.4, 1.17.4, 1.16.5 contain fixes that removes fragment from URI path in incoming requests.

Categories

8.6
CVSS
Severity: High
CVSS 3.1 •
CVSS 2.0 •
EPSS 0.01%
Vendor Advisory envoyproxy.io
Affected: envoyproxy envoy
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2021-32779?
CVE-2021-32779 has been scored as a high severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2021-32779?
To fix CVE-2021-32779, make sure you are using an up-to-date version of the affected component(s) by checking the vendor release notes. As for now, there are no other specific guidelines available.
Is CVE-2021-32779 being actively exploited in the wild?
As for now, there are no information to confirm that CVE-2021-32779 is being actively exploited. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2021-32779?
CVE-2021-32779 affects envoyproxy envoy.
This platform uses data from the NIST NVD, MITRE CVE, MITRE CWE, First.org and CISA KEV but is not endorsed or certified by these entities. CVE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. CWE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CWE content is MITRE's CWE web site.
© 2025 Under My Watch. All Rights Reserved.