Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-22549 affects Google Asylo enclave code. A local, low-privileged attacker could manipulate an untrusted call address so trusted enclave memory is overwritten. That can threaten sensitive data and integrity inside affected enclave workloads, but exploitation is rated high complexity and requires local access.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation where Asylo protects sensitive data or runs on shared systems. This is not marked as actively exploited in the provided sources, but the potential confidentiality and integrity impact inside enclaves makes delayed remediation risky for high-value workloads.
Technical view
The issue is a CWE-823 use of an out-of-range pointer offset in Asylo TrustedPrimitives::UntrustedCall. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.5 with local attack vector, high complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, high confidentiality and integrity impact, and low availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to systems or products that embed Google Asylo at affected versions, especially deployments using the vulnerable TrustedPrimitives::UntrustedCall path. The source bundle does not identify specific downstream products, configurations, or package names beyond Google Asylo.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not cite public exploitation, and KEV status is false. The attacker needs local access and low privileges, with high attack complexity. Treat this as most relevant to shared hosts, developer systems, or production nodes running sensitive Asylo enclave workloads.
Researcher notes
The evidence names arbitrary trusted enclave memory overwrite through address manipulation in TrustedPrimitives::UntrustedCall. The affected version range is not fully specified beyond the recommendation to update past 0.6.2 or to a referenced commit, so version validation may require repository and build review.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory applications and services that use Google Asylo.
- Update Asylo past version 0.6.2 or apply the vendor-referenced fix.
- Review Google Asylo commit history for applicable backports.
- Restrict local access to hosts running affected enclave workloads.
- Rebuild and redeploy enclave components after dependency updates.
Validation and detection
- Confirm deployed Asylo versions are later than 0.6.2.
- Verify builds include the referenced trusted-memory overwrite fix.
- Review lockfiles, build manifests, and images for bundled Asylo copies.
- Test enclave workflows using untrusted-call paths after updating.
- Assess whether local users can reach affected enclave workloads.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-823: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-22549 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L15.5Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/google/asylo/commit/ecfcd0008b6f8f63c6fa3cc1b62fcd4a52f2c0adCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Use of Out-of-range Pointer Offset
Use of Out-of-range Pointer Offset represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.