CVE-2021-37219 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-295 vulnerability in github.com/hashicorp/consul. A fix is available for github.com/hashicorp/consul — see the affected versions and patch details below.
HashiCorp Consul Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-37219 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/hashicorp/consul🐹github.com/hashicorp/consul🐹github.com/hashicorp/consulReal-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
HashiCorp Consul and Consul Enterprise 1.10.1 Raft RPC layer allows non-server agents with a valid certificate signed by the same CA to access server-only functionality, enabling privilege escalation. Fixed in 1.8.15, 1.9.9 and 1.10.2.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/hashicorp/consul | ≥ 1.10.1&&< 1.10.2 | 1.10.2go get github.com/hashicorp/consul@v1.10.2 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/hashicorp/consul | ≥ 1.9.0&&< 1.9.9 | 1.9.9go get github.com/hashicorp/consul@v1.9.9 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/hashicorp/consul | all versions | 1.8.15go get github.com/hashicorp/consul@v1.8.15 |
Affected Products
consulhashicorpDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/hashicorp/consul, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/hashicorp/consul to 1.10.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-37219 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-37219 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.