How severe is CVE-2021-40828?

CVE-2021-40828 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-40828?

CVE-2021-40828 affects the following packages: software.amazon.awssdk.iotdevicesdk:aws-iot-device-sdk (Maven), aws-iot-device-sdk-v2 (npm), awsiotsdk (PyPI). Ecosystems affected: Maven, npm, PyPI.

How do I fix CVE-2021-40828?

Update software.amazon.awssdk.iotdevicesdk:aws-iot-device-sdk to 1.3.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-40828 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-40828 in my Maven, npm, PyPI dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for software.amazon.awssdk.iotdevicesdk:aws-iot-device-sdk. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-40828 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2021-40828?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-40828 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2021-40828 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-40828 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-40828?

CVE-2021-40828 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.4%, placing it in the 31th 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. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-40828?

CVE-2021-40828 is classified as CWE-295 (CWE-295). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2021-40828 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-40828 was published on November 23, 2021 and was last updated on April 11, 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-2021-40828: Improper certificate management in AWS IoT Devi…

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk31th percentile+0.30%

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

3 pkgs affected

Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.

aws-iot-device-sdk-v2npm

102Kdownloads / week

Description

Connections initialized by the AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Java (versions prior to 1.3.3), Python (versions prior to 1.5.18), C++ (versions prior to 1.12.7) and Node.js (versions prior to 1.5.1) did not verify server certificate hostname during TLS handshake when overriding Certificate Authorities (CA) in their trust stores on Windows. This issue has been addressed in aws-c-io submodule versions 0.9.13 onward. This issue affects: Amazon Web Services AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Java versions prior to 1.3.3 on Microsoft Windows. Amazon Web Services AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Python versions prior to 1.5.18 on Microsoft Windows. Amazon Web Services AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for C++ versions prior to 1.12.7 on Microsoft Windows. Amazon Web Services AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Node.js versions prior to 1.5.3 on Microsoft Windows.

Affected Packages

3 total 3 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`software.amazon.awssdk.iotdevicesdk:aws-iot-device-sdk`	all versions	1.3.3
📦npm	`aws-iot-device-sdk-v2`	all versions	1.5.1
🐍PyPI	`awsiotsdk`	all versions	1.5.18

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for software.amazon.awssdk.iotdevicesdk:aws-iot-device-sdk. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update software.amazon.awssdk.iotdevicesdk:aws-iot-device-sdk to 1.3.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-40828 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-40828 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to CVE-2021-40828. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Connections initialized by the AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Java (versions prior to 1.3.3), Python (versions prior to 1.5.18), C++ (versions prior to 1.12.7) and Node.js (versions prior to 1.5.1) did not verify server certificate hostname during TLS handshake when overriding Certificate Authorities (CA) in their trust stores on Windows. This issue has been addressed in aws-c-io submodule versions 0.9.13 onward. This issue affects: Amazon Web Services AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Java versions prior to 1.3.3 on Microsoft Windows. Amazon Web Services AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Python versions prior to

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-40828 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2021-40828 across Maven, npm, PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVE-2021-40828