8.1
HIGH
CVE-2021-41129
Pterodactyl PHP Two-Factor Authentication Token Manipulation flaw
Description

Pterodactyl is an open-source game server management panel built with PHP 7, React, and Go. A malicious user can modify the contents of a `confirmation_token` input during the two-factor authentication process to reference a cache value not associated with the login attempt. In rare cases this can allow a malicious actor to authenticate as a random user in the Panel. The malicious user must target an account with two-factor authentication enabled, and then must provide a correct two-factor authentication token before being authenticated as that user. Due to a validation flaw in the logic handling user authentication during the two-factor authentication process a malicious user can trick the system into loading credentials for an arbitrary user by modifying the token sent to the server. This authentication flaw is present in the `LoginCheckpointController@__invoke` method which handles two-factor authentication for a user. This controller looks for a request input parameter called `confirmation_token` which is expected to be a 64 character random alpha-numeric string that references a value within the Panel's cache containing a `user_id` value. This value is then used to fetch the user that attempted to login, and lookup their two-factor authentication token. Due to the design of this system, any element in the cache that contains only digits could be referenced by a malicious user, and whatever value is stored at that position would be used as the `user_id`. There are a few different areas of the Panel that store values into the cache that are integers, and a user who determines what those cache keys are could pass one of those keys which would cause this code pathway to reference an arbitrary user. At its heart this is a high-risk login bypass vulnerability. However, there are a few additional conditions that must be met in order for this to be successfully executed, notably: 1.) The account referenced by the malicious cache key must have two-factor authentication enabled. An account without two-factor authentication would cause an exception to be triggered by the authentication logic, thusly exiting this authentication flow. 2.) Even if the malicious user is able to reference a valid cache key that references a valid user account with two-factor authentication, they must provide a valid two-factor authentication token. However, due to the design of this endpoint once a valid user account is found with two-factor authentication enabled there is no rate-limiting present, thusly allowing an attacker to brute force combinations until successful. This leads to a third condition that must be met: 3.) For the duration of this attack sequence the cache key being referenced must continue to exist with a valid `user_id` value. Depending on the specific key being used for this attack, this value may disappear quickly, or be changed by other random user interactions on the Panel, outside the control of the attacker. In order to mitigate this vulnerability the underlying authentication logic was changed to use an encrypted session store that the user is therefore unable to control the value of. This completely removed the use of a user-controlled value being used. In addition, the code was audited to ensure this type of vulnerability is not present elsewhere.

INFO

Published Date :

Oct. 6, 2021, 8:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

Nov. 21, 2024, 6:25 a.m.

Remotely Exploitable :

Yes !

Impact Score :

5.9

Exploitability Score :

2.2
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2021-41129 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Pterodactyl panel
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2021-41129.

URL Resource
https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/v1.6.2/CHANGELOG.md#v162 Release Notes Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/commit/4a84c36009be10dbd83051ac1771662c056e4977 Patch Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/releases/tag/v1.6.2 Release Notes Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/security/advisories/GHSA-5vfx-8w6m-h3v4 Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/v1.6.2/CHANGELOG.md#v162 Release Notes Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/commit/4a84c36009be10dbd83051ac1771662c056e4977 Patch Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/releases/tag/v1.6.2 Release Notes Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/security/advisories/GHSA-5vfx-8w6m-h3v4 Third Party Advisory

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2021-41129 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2021-41129 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    Nov. 21, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/v1.6.2/CHANGELOG.md#v162
    Added Reference https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/commit/4a84c36009be10dbd83051ac1771662c056e4977
    Added Reference https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/releases/tag/v1.6.2
    Added Reference https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/security/advisories/GHSA-5vfx-8w6m-h3v4
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • Reanalysis by [email protected]

    Aug. 12, 2022

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CWE NIST CWE-287
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Oct. 18, 2021

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V2 NIST (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P)
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/v1.6.2/CHANGELOG.md#v162 No Types Assigned https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/blob/v1.6.2/CHANGELOG.md#v162 Release Notes, Third Party Advisory
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/commit/4a84c36009be10dbd83051ac1771662c056e4977 No Types Assigned https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/commit/4a84c36009be10dbd83051ac1771662c056e4977 Patch, Third Party Advisory
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/releases/tag/v1.6.2 No Types Assigned https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/releases/tag/v1.6.2 Release Notes, Third Party Advisory
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/security/advisories/GHSA-5vfx-8w6m-h3v4 No Types Assigned https://github.com/pterodactyl/panel/security/advisories/GHSA-5vfx-8w6m-h3v4 Third Party Advisory
    Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:pterodactyl:panel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 1.0.0 up to (excluding) 1.6.2
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

0.45 }} -0.02%

score

0.60621

percentile

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability
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Latest DB Update: Jun. 21, 2025 6:35