Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-41803 affects HashiCorp Consul auto config authorization. Certain Consul versions failed to properly validate node or segment names before using them in JWT claim assertions, creating a high-risk authorization weakness that could affect confidentiality and availability.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority infrastructure patch for Consul environments. It affects service discovery/control-plane software, has low attack complexity, and can impact availability, but the provided sources do not show active exploitation.
Technical view
HashiCorp Consul versions 1.8.1 through 1.11.8, 1.12.4, and 1.13.1 have missing input validation in auto config RPC JWT claim handling. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.1, with network attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, low confidentiality impact, and high availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where affected Consul versions are deployed and auto config RPC is in use. The bundle lists affected version ranges but has incomplete CPE/product metadata, so asset inventory should verify Consul versions directly.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not identify active exploitation, and KEV is false. The weakness is remotely reachable with low privileges according to CVSS, but the provided sources do not include public exploit details or observed exploitation.
Researcher notes
Focus review on auto config JWT authorization paths and input validation for node and segment names. The assigned CWE is CWE-862, and the CVSS vector emphasizes network reachability, low complexity, low privileges, and high availability impact.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Consul to 1.11.9, 1.12.5, 1.13.2, or later supported versions.
- Review HashiCorp advisory HCSEC-2022-19 for vendor-specific remediation guidance.
- Prioritize systems using Consul auto config RPC.
- Confirm downstream packages, including Fedora builds, include the fix.
- Track unsupported or unmanaged Consul deployments separately.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all Consul servers and clients and record exact versions.
- Identify environments where auto config RPC is enabled or depended on.
- Confirm patched versions match 1.11.9, 1.12.5, 1.13.2, or later.
- Review change records for Consul package updates from vendor repositories.
- Check vulnerability scanners for stale detections after upgrade.
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-862: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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-2021-41803 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
- High
- CVSS
- 7.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
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:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H2.84.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.hashicorp.com/blog/category/consulCVE reference
- https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2022-19-consul-auto-config-jwt-authorization-missing-input-validation/44627CVE reference
- FEDORA-2023-9f5f1ef40aCVE reference · vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2023-cf3551046dCVE reference · vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2023-b9c1d0e4c5CVE reference · vendor-advisory
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.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.