CVE-2021-29482

Name: CVE-2021-29482
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2021-04-28T19:15:08.587+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

HIGHCVSS 7.5/10EPSS 1.44%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2021-29482 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.5/10 on the CVSS scale. xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input. EPSS estimates a 1.44% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go. The function readUvarint used to read the xz container format may not terminate a loop provide malicous input. The problem has been fixed in release v0.5.8. As a workaround users can limit the size of the compressed file input to a reasonable size for their use case. The standard library had recently the same issue and got the CVE-2020-16845 allocated.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

7.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

1.44%

69.8th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-835

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Xz Project	Xz	< 0.5.8

References

https://github.com/ulikunitz/xz/commit/69c6093c7b2397b923acf82cb378f55ab2652b9bPatch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/ulikunitz/xz/security/advisories/GHSA-25xm-hr59-7c27Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/ulikunitz/xz/commit/69c6093c7b2397b923acf82cb378f55ab2652b9bPatch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/ulikunitz/xz/security/advisories/GHSA-25xm-hr59-7c27Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Apr 28, 2021
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-29482?

How severe is CVE-2021-29482?

CVE-2021-29482 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 1.44% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2021-29482?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2021-29482?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST