Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-32618 is an open redirect weakness in Flask-Security-Too redirect handling. A crafted login-style link could make a trusted application send a user to an attacker-chosen site. Business impact is mainly phishing and trust abuse, not direct server compromise.
Executive priority
Treat as low urgency unless the application is customer-facing, login-heavy, or used in high-trust workflows. Prioritize during normal dependency maintenance, with faster review if custom redirect or WSGI behavior is present.
Technical view
Flask-Security-Too validates the next redirect parameter with Python urlsplit, accepting relative URLs or matching netlocs. Some browsers reinterpret incomplete URLs more permissively, creating external redirects that pass server-side validation. The source rates this low severity because common Werkzeug defaults convert Location headers to absolute URLs, reducing practical exposure.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in Flask applications using Flask-Security-Too/flask-security affected versions and honoring next redirects after successful views. Risk increases if the WSGI stack or application disables Werkzeug's default Location header autocorrection.
Exploitation context
The source requires user interaction and describes phishing-style link abuse through legitimate application URLs. KEV is false, and the provided sources do not report active exploitation or public weaponization.
Researcher notes
Key uncertainty is operational configuration. The source says common Werkzeug behavior makes the attack vector ineffective, but applications can alter that behavior. Validate the deployed stack before concluding exposure.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory applications using Flask-Security-Too or flask-security affected versions.
- Check vendor advisory for fixed releases and upgrade where specified.
- Keep Werkzeug Location header autocorrection enabled where applicable.
- Review any autocorrect_location_header=False configuration and remove unless justified.
- Constrain post-authentication redirects to trusted relative or same-origin destinations.
Validation and detection
- Confirm dependency versions in production and staging environments.
- Review Flask and WSGI configuration for Location header behavior.
- Test redirect handling in staging using malformed next parameters.
- Verify redirects cannot resolve to untrusted external domains.
- Add regression coverage for post-login redirect validation.
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-601: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. 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-2021-32618 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
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
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:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N1.61.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
3.1LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/Flask-Middleware/flask-security/security/advisories/GHSA-6qmf-fj6m-686cCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/Flask-Middleware/flask-security/issues/486CVE 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.
URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect')
URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
