An issue was discovered in the character definitions of the Unicode Specification through 14.0. The specification allows an adversary to produce source code identifiers such as function names using homoglyphs that render visually identical to a target identifier. Adversaries can leverage this to inject code via adversarial identifier definitions in upstream software dependencies invoked deceptively in downstream software. NOTE: the Unicode Consortium offers the following alternative approach to presenting this concern. An issue is noted in the nature of international text that can affect applications that implement support for The Unicode Standard (all versions). Unless mitigated, an adversary could produce source code identifiers using homoglyph characters that render visually identical to but are distinct from a target identifier. In this way, an adversary could inject adversarial identifier definitions in upstream software that are not detected by human reviewers and are invoked deceptively in downstream software. The Unicode Consortium has documented this class of security vulnerability in its document, Unicode Technical Report #36, Unicode Security Considerations. The Unicode Consortium also provides guidance on mitigations for this class of issues in Unicode Technical Standard #39, Unicode Security Mechanisms.
CVE-2021-42694
Score 8.3 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: CRITICAL) published 2022-05-24. NVD baseline CVSS 8.3; sources differ by 0.0.
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- 8.3
- EG Score
- 8.3(medium)
- EPSS
- 90.5%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
November 1, 2021
Last Modified
November 21, 2024
References (20)
- cve@mitrehttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/11/01/1
- cve@mitrehttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/11/01/6
- cve@mitrehttp://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode14.0.0/
- cve@mitrehttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1007.html
- cve@mitrehttps://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202210-09
- cve@mitrehttps://trojansource.codes
- cve@mitrehttps://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/999008
- cve@mitrehttps://www.scyon.nl/post/trojans-in-your-source-code
- cve@mitrehttps://www.unicode.org/reports/tr36/
- cve@mitrehttps://www.unicode.org/reports/tr39/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/11/01/1
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/11/01/6
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode14.0.0/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1007.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202210-09
Weakness Classification(2)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 10× in last 7d / 46× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 100 of 102 total refreshes for this CVE.
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Publicly available exploits
(1 reference)Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 GitHub PoC). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.
- GitHub PoCsimplylu/CVE-2021-42694First seen Nov 2, 2021
Generate malicious files using recently published homoglyphic-attack (CVE-2021-42694)
Open source ↗
Related CVEs(same CWE)
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- CVE-2006-1359NVD 0.0EG 9.0EPSS 99%NONE
- CVE-2005-1921NVD 0.0EG 9.0EPSS 100%NONE
- CVE-2005-3302EG 7.3HIGH
- CVE-2005-1876EG 4.5MEDIUM
- CVE-2003-1599EG 0.0NONE
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- CVE-2006-1301EG 0.0EPSS 95%NONE
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- CVE-2006-1309EG 0.0EPSS 95%NONE
- CVE-2006-1304EG 0.0EPSS 95%NONE
Frequently asked(5)
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