How severe is CVE-2021-42009?

CVE-2021-42009 has a CVSS score of 4.3/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-42009?

CVE-2021-42009 affects the following packages: github.com/apache/trafficcontrol (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2021-42009?

Update github.com/apache/trafficcontrol to 5.1.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-42009 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-42009 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/apache/trafficcontrol. 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-2021-42009 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-2021-42009?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-42009 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-2021-42009 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-42009 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-2021-42009?

CVE-2021-42009 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 2.7%, placing it in the 84th 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.

When was CVE-2021-42009 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-42009 was published on October 12, 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-2021-42009: Email relay in Apache Traffic Control (Medium 4…

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

2.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk84th percentile+2.07%

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

🐹github.com/apache/trafficcontrol

Real-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

An authenticated Apache Traffic Control Traffic Ops user with Portal-level privileges can send a request with a specially-crafted email subject to the /deliveryservices/request Traffic Ops endpoint to send an email, from the Traffic Ops server, with an arbitrary body to an arbitrary email address. Apache Traffic Control 5.1.x users should upgrade to 5.1.3 or 6.0.0. 4.1.x users should upgrade to 5.1.3.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/apache/trafficcontrol`	all versions	5.1.3

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/apache/trafficcontrol. 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 github.com/apache/trafficcontrol to 5.1.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-42009 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-2021-42009 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-2021-42009. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

An authenticated Apache Traffic Control Traffic Ops user with Portal-level privileges can send a request with a specially-crafted email subject to the /deliveryservices/request Traffic Ops endpoint to send an email, from the Traffic Ops server, with an arbitrary body to an arbitrary email address. Apache Traffic Control 5.1.x users should upgrade to 5.1.3 or 6.0.0. 4.1.x users should upgrade to 5.1.3.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-42009 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2021-42009 across Go 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-2021-42009