How severe is CVE-2021-29442?

CVE-2021-29442 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-29442?

CVE-2021-29442 affects the following packages: com.alibaba.nacos:nacos-common (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2021-29442?

Update com.alibaba.nacos:nacos-common to version 1.4.1 or later. Run your dependency manager's update command and verify no transitive dependencies pin the vulnerable version. Use O3 Security's SCA scanner to confirm the fix is applied across your entire dependency tree.

Is CVE-2021-29442 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 4 known exploit references for CVE-2021-29442, including 3 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-29442?

CVE-2021-29442 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 92.8%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2021-29442?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2021-29442, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2021-29442 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-29442 was published on April 27, 2021 and was last updated on April 10, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2021-29442: Authentication bypass for specific endpoint (Hi…

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

92.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

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.

Blast Radius

1 pkg affected

☕com.alibaba.nacos:nacos-common

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Nacos is a platform designed for dynamic service discovery and configuration and service management. In Nacos before version 1.4.1, the ConfigOpsController lets the user perform management operations like querying the database or even wiping it out. While the /data/remove endpoint is properly protected with the @Secured annotation, the /derby endpoint is not protected and can be openly accessed by unauthenticated users. These endpoints are only valid when using embedded storage (derby DB) so this issue should not affect those installations using external storage (e.g. mysql)

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`com.alibaba.nacos:nacos-common`	all versions	1.4.1

Frequently Asked Questions

Nacos is a platform designed for dynamic service discovery and configuration and service management. In Nacos before version 1.4.1, the ConfigOpsController lets the user perform management operations like querying the database or even wiping it out. While the /data/remove endpoint is properly protected with the @Secured annotation, the /derby endpoint is not protected and can be openly accessed by unauthenticated users. These endpoints are only valid when using embedded storage (derby DB) so this issue should not affect those installations using external storage (e.g. mysql)

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-29442 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2021-29442 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works