CVE-2021-32785

Format string bug in the Redis cache implementation

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: July 22, 2021 at 12:00 AM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 03:53 AM UTC
4 products affected across 4 vendorsDebian LinuxCloud BackupMod Auth Openidc· also runs on 1 platform

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 3%

Description

mod_auth_openidc is an authentication/authorization module for the Apache 2.x HTTP server that functions as an OpenID Connect Relying Party, authenticating users against an OpenID Connect Provider. When mod_auth_openidc versions prior to 2.4.9 are configured to use an unencrypted Redis cache (`OIDCCacheEncrypt off`, `OIDCSessionType server-cache`, `OIDCCacheType redis`), `mod_auth_openidc` wrongly performed argument interpolation before passing Redis requests to `hiredis`, which would perform it again and lead to an uncontrolled format string bug. Initial assessment shows that this bug does not appear to allow gaining arbitrary code execution, but can reliably provoke a denial of service by repeatedly crashing the Apache workers. This bug has been corrected in version 2.4.9 by performing argument interpolation only once, using the `hiredis` API. As a workaround, this vulnerability can be mitigated by setting `OIDCCacheEncrypt` to `on`, as cache keys are cryptographically hashed before use when this option is enabled.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

All versions
v < 2.4.9
Affected range stops below 2.4.9, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
apache-http-server (environment)
v < 2.4.9
Affected range stops below 2.4.9, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Runs on — not affected

The affected product only carries this flaw when running on these platforms. The platforms themselves are not vulnerable.

CVSS

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-134

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