CVE-2021-42614
NixOS vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

A use-after-free vulnerability (CVE-2021-42614) was discovered in the infowidthinternal function in bk_info.c in Halibut version 1.2. The vulnerability allows an attacker to cause a segmentation fault or potentially have unspecified other impact by providing a crafted text document (NVD).

Technical details

The vulnerability exists in the infowidthinternal function within bkinfo.c. The issue occurs due to improper memory management, specifically a use-after-free condition. The vulnerability can be triggered through a recursive call sequence involving infowidthinternal, infowidthinternallist, and infowidthxrefs functions. The CVSS v3.1 base score for this vulnerability is 7.8 HIGH (Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) (NVD, Halibut Case Study).

Impact

When successfully exploited, the vulnerability can lead to a segmentation fault in the application. The high CVSS score indicates potential severe impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system, though specific impacts beyond the segmentation fault are not fully specified (NVD).

Mitigation and workarounds

The vulnerability has been fixed in Halibut version 1.3. Users are advised to upgrade to this version or later. Fedora has released an update (halibut-1.3-3.fc35) to address this vulnerability along with related issues CVE-2021-42612 and CVE-2021-42613 (Fedora Update).

Additional resources


SourceThis report was generated using AI

Related NixOS vulnerabilities:

CVE ID

Severity

Score

Technologies

Component name

CISA KEV exploit

Has fix

Published date

CVE-2025-48606HIGH7.8
  • NixOSNixOS
  • android
NoNoDec 08, 2025
CVE-2025-48639HIGH7.3
  • NixOSNixOS
  • android
NoNoDec 08, 2025
CVE-2025-48625HIGH7
  • NixOSNixOS
  • android
NoNoDec 08, 2025
CVE-2025-48608MEDIUM5.5
  • NixOSNixOS
  • android
NoNoDec 08, 2025
CVE-2025-48569MEDIUM5.5
  • NixOSNixOS
  • android
NoNoDec 08, 2025

Free Vulnerability Assessment

Benchmark your Cloud Security Posture

Evaluate your cloud security practices across 9 security domains to benchmark your risk level and identify gaps in your defenses.

Request assessment

Get a personalized demo

Ready to see Wiz in action?

"Best User Experience I have ever seen, provides full visibility to cloud workloads."
David EstlickCISO
"Wiz provides a single pane of glass to see what is going on in our cloud environments."
Adam FletcherChief Security Officer
"We know that if Wiz identifies something as critical, it actually is."
Greg PoniatowskiHead of Threat and Vulnerability Management