CVE-2021-3482Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Heap disclosure or crash via undersized EXIF data

Published Apr 8, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Heap-based buffer overflow in Exiv2 through 0.27.4-RC1 allows attackers to read heap data or crash a process via crafted EXIF data. Jp2Image::readMetadata treats any nonempty rawData buffer as a complete eight-byte EXIF header and indexes beyond undersized allocations. A victim application or command-line utility must parse the supplied image; observed consequences are a few-byte heap disclosure or process abort.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability2.30%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Heap-based buffer overflow in Exiv2 through 0.27.4-RC1 allows attackers to read heap data or crash a process via crafted EXIF data. Jp2Image::readMetadata treats any nonempty rawData buffer as a complete eight-byte EXIF header and indexes beyond undersized allocations. A victim application or command-line utility must parse the supplied image; observed consequences are a few-byte heap disclosure or process abort.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-3482
Published
Apr 8, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Exiv2
Product
Exiv2
Classifications
CWE-20, CWE-787, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 8, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=exiv2 0.27.4RC2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Exiv2 · Exiv2version=exiv2 0.27.4RC2

Published CVSS scores

6.4NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:P
6.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo