CVE-2021-42694
Public exploit available. Not confirmed exploited in the wild yet. A vendor fix is available.
What to do
The vendor has published a fix. Version details are below where the sources state them.
What it is
From the CVE record
An issue was discovered in the character definitions of the Unicode Specification through 14.0. The specification allows an adversary to produce source code identifiers such as function names using homoglyphs that render visually identical to a target identifier. Adversaries can leverage this to inject code via adversarial identifier definitions in upstream software dependencies invoked deceptively in downstream software. NOTE: the Unicode Consortium offers the following alternative approach to presenting this concern. An issue is noted in the nature of international text that can affect applications that implement support for The Unicode Standard (all versions). Unless mitigated, an adversary could produce source code identifiers using homoglyph characters that render visually identical to but are distinct from a target identifier. In this way, an adversary could inject adversarial identifier definitions in upstream software that are not detected by human reviewers and are invoked deceptively in downstream software. The Unicode Consortium has documented this class of security vulnerability in its document, Unicode Technical Report #36, Unicode Security Considerations. The Unicode Consortium also provides guidance on mitigations for this class of issues in Unicode Technical Standard #39, Unicode Security Mechanisms.
In plain language
No plain-language summary for this CVE yet.
Exploitation
Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.
- CISA KEV
Not in the catalog. CISA has not confirmed exploitation.
- Public exploits
2 sources with a proof of concept or module.
Exploit links, PoCs and Metasploit modules after sign-in- EPSS
4.9% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 92nd percentile of scored CVEs.
Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.
Lifecycle
The patch came 471 days before any public exploit.
- Public exploit / PoCsource: other
- Patch availablerecord updated
- Publishedweakness classified, att&ck mapped
Affected products
Technical detail
CVSS 3.1 vector
Open in the CVSS calculatorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Scored 8.3 by NVD.
How it is reached
- Attack Vector NetworkExploitable remotely over the network without any special conditions
- Attack Complexity HighRequires specific conditions like a race condition or non-default configuration
- Privileges Required NoneNo authentication required — anyone can exploit this
- User Interaction RequiredA user must click a link, open a file, or perform some action
Scope
- Scope ChangedThe exploit can affect other components (e.g. sandbox escape, host compromise from VM)
Impact if exploited
- Confidentiality HighTotal information disclosure — all data in the component is compromised
- Integrity HighTotal loss of integrity — attacker can modify any data in the component
- Availability HighTotal denial of service — the component is completely unavailable
Weaknesses
ATT&CK techniques
Mapped from the weaknesses above (CWE to ATT&CK), not observed in attacks.
Sources
References in the record
And 13 more references. See all after sign-in
Watch the software you run.
My Stack ranks new CVEs for your products by real-world exploitation, so the next serious one reaches you without reading every advisory.
We'll flag the next CVE, public exploit or patch for Unicode, not every advisory. This one: public exploit.
A free account adds
- The full version matrix and every affected product
- Exploit links, proofs of concept and Metasploit modules
- Email alerts for the products you watch
- The same data over REST API, MCP and CLI