CVE-2021-37942 json
APM Java Agent Local Privilege Escalation
published 2y ago modified 4mo ago also GHSA-5xqm-hc45-f2g2 , EUVD-2023-2892
- cvss
- 7.0
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.2%
- EPSS 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 16%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
A local privilege escalation issue was found with the APM Java agent, where a user on the system could attach a malicious plugin to an application running the APM Java agent. By using this vulnerability, an attacker could execute code at a potentially higher level of permissions than their user typically has access to.
Patch / fix
- maven co.elastic.apm:apm-agent-parent 1.27.1
- maven co.elastic.apm:elastic-apm-agent 1.27.1
- Elastic Elastic APM Java Agent 1.27.0
Is CVE-2021-37942 in your dependencies? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.
Check with FencerExploit prediction
0.25% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 16% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 7.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVD | 3.1 | 7.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| GitHub | 3.1 | 7.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
Affected packages
| ecosystem | package | affected | fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| maven | co.elastic.apm:apm-agent-parent | >=1.18.0, <1.27.1 |
1.27.1 |
| maven | co.elastic.apm:elastic-apm-agent | >=1.18.0, <1.27.1 |
1.27.1 |
Affected products
- Elastic Elastic APM Java Agent
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management
References
-
discuss.elastic.co
/t/apm-java-agent-security-update/291355
web, vendor-advisory
-
elastic.co
/community/security
web, product
-
nvd.nist.gov
/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-37942
advisory
-
github.com
/elastic/apm-agent-java
package
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2021-37942
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-5xqm-hc45-f2g2
- NVD CVE-2021-37942
Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.