CVE-2021-43781 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.3) CWE-862 vulnerability in invenio-drafts-resources. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2021-43781 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Permissions not properly checked in Invenio-Drafts-Resources
Real-World Exposure
invenio-drafts-resources🐍invenio-app-rdm🐍invenio-rdm-records🐍invenio-drafts-resources🐍invenio-rdm-records🐍invenio-app-rdmReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Invenio-Drafts-Resources is a submission/deposit module for Invenio, a software framework for research data management. Invenio-Drafts-Resources prior to versions 0.13.7 and 0.14.6 does not properly check permissions when a record is published. The vulnerability is exploitable in a default installation of InvenioRDM. An authenticated a user is able via REST API calls to publish draft records of other users if they know the record identifier and the draft validates (e.g. all require fields filled out). An attacker is not able to modify the data in the record, and thus e.g. cannot change a record from restricted to public. The problem is patched in Invenio-Drafts-Resources v0.13.7 and 0.14.6, which is part of InvenioRDM v6.0.1 and InvenioRDM v7.0 respectively.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | invenio-drafts-resources | all versions | 0.13.7 |
| 🐍PyPI | invenio-app-rdm | all versions | 6.0.5 |
| 🐍PyPI | invenio-rdm-records | all versions | 0.32.6 |
| 🐍PyPI | invenio-drafts-resources | ≥ 0.14.0&&< 0.14.6 | 0.14.6 |
| 🐍PyPI | invenio-rdm-records | ≥ 0.33.0&&< 0.33.10 | 0.33.10 |
| 🐍PyPI | invenio-app-rdm | ≥ 7.0.0.dev0&&< 7.0.0.dev5 | 7.0.0.dev5 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for invenio-drafts-resources. 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 invenio-drafts-resources to 0.13.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-43781 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-2021-43781 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-2021-43781. 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-2021-43781 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2021-43781 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.