CVE-2021-44717Network attack vector

Misdirected writes via erroneous descriptor zero closure

Published Jan 1, 2022 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Resource management flaw in Go before 1.16.12 and 1.17.0 through 1.17.4 allows remote attackers to misdirect file or network writes. On UNIX, syscall.ForkExec treats zero-initialized pipe descriptor slots as valid after pipe creation fails and closes file descriptor 0. Exploitation requires exhausting a process's descriptors and repeatedly triggering ForkExec, directly or through os/exec, causing cross-file or cross-connection I/O.

CVSS severity4.8
Medium
EPSS probability1.86%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource management flaw in Go before 1.16.12 and 1.17.0 through 1.17.4 allows remote attackers to misdirect file or network writes. On UNIX, syscall.ForkExec treats zero-initialized pipe descriptor slots as valid after pipe creation fails and closes file descriptor 0. Exploitation requires exhausting a process's descriptors and repeatedly triggering ForkExec, directly or through os/exec, causing cross-file or cross-connection I/O.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-44717
Published
Jan 1, 2022
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-404
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 1, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.8NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N
4.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-404Improper Resource Shutdown or Release

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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