Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-42782 affects OpenSC, software used with smart cards and cryptographic tokens. Stack buffer overflows could crash applications using the library. Business impact is most relevant where OpenSC supports authentication, signing, or token access workflows.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted maintenance risk, not an emergency based on available evidence. Prioritize environments where OpenSC failures could disrupt authentication, signing, or regulated operational workflows.
Technical view
OpenSC before version 0.22.0 has stack buffer overflow issues in multiple locations, mapped to CWE-119. The documented impact is potential crashes of programs using the library. The provided sources do not supply CVSS, privilege impact, remote reachability, or detailed exploit conditions.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely on systems running OpenSC before 0.22.0, including packaged versions addressed by Gentoo and Debian LTS advisories. Confirm actual package versions rather than assuming all smart-card environments are affected.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not indicate active exploitation, and CISA KEV is false. Public references include upstream commits and Linux distribution advisories, but no cited source here documents weaponized exploitation or exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports memory-safety flaws with crash impact, but exploitability details are incomplete. Review the referenced upstream commits for exact code areas and validate affected package backports through distribution changelogs.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade OpenSC according to vendor or distribution guidance.
- Prioritize hosts where OpenSC supports authentication or signing workflows.
- Apply relevant Gentoo or Debian LTS security updates where applicable.
- Check upstream OpenSC release guidance before using manual builds.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed OpenSC package versions across servers and workstations.
- Verify whether deployed versions are before 0.22.0.
- Review applications and services that load or depend on OpenSC.
- Confirm security advisory updates are installed on affected distributions.
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-119: 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-2021-42782 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
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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 and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2016448CVE reference
- https://github.com/OpenSC/OpenSC/commit/78cdab94CVE reference
- https://github.com/OpenSC/OpenSC/commit/7114fb71CVE reference
- https://github.com/OpenSC/OpenSC/commit/1252aca9CVE reference
- https://github.com/OpenSC/OpenSC/commit/ae1cf0beCVE reference
- https://github.com/OpenSC/OpenSC/commit/456ac566CVE reference
- GLSA-202209-03CVE reference · vendor-advisory
- [debian-lts-announce] 20230621 [SECURITY] [DLA 3463-1] opensc security updateCVE reference · mailing-list
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/12/msg00026.htmlCVE reference
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.
Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.