Timelock takeover via late operation-readiness check
Published Aug 26, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024
Privilege escalation in OpenZeppelin Contracts allows remote attackers to seize TimelockController through a crafted operation batch. The executeBatch method checks readiness only after external calls, letting an unready batch lower the delay, grant proposer rights, and schedule itself. An executor-role holder, or any remote attacker when that role is open, can gain administrator control and unrestricted access to assets held by the contract.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in OpenZeppelin Contracts allows remote attackers to seize TimelockController through a crafted operation batch. The executeBatch method checks readiness only after external calls, letting an unready batch lower the delay, grant proposer rights, and schedule itself. An executor-role holder, or any remote attacker when that role is open, can gain administrator control and unrestricted access to assets held by the contract.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-39167
- Published
- Aug 26, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 4, 2024
- Vendor
- OpenZeppelin
- Product
- OpenZeppelin Contracts
- Classifications
- CWE-266, CWE-269
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 26, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=>=3.3.0, < 3.4.2
- Affected versionversion=>= 3.3.0-solc-0.7, < 3.4.2-solc-0.7
- Affected versionversion=>=4.0.0, < 4.3.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Reported exploitation
- White-hat exploitation during disclosurereported exploitation
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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