Is CVE-2021-45444 actively exploited?

CVE-2021-45444 has no public evidence of in-the-wild exploitation as of 2024-11-21.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-45444?

CVE-2021-45444 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH severity). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

How do I patch CVE-2021-45444?

Patch guidance is available from zsh security advisories. CVEDatabase generates AI-assisted remediation guidance on demand for CVE-2021-45444.

Fix CVE-2021-45444 - HIGH zsh zsh

Q: Which products are affected by CVE-2021-45444?

22 products: zsh zsh, fedoraproject fedora, fedoraproject fedora, debian debian linux, debian debian linux, and 17 more.

Description

In zsh before 5.8.1, an attacker can achieve code execution if they control a command output inside the prompt, as demonstrated by a %F argument. This occurs because of recursive PROMPT_SUBST expansion.

CVSS Metrics

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector: local
Complexity: low
Privileges: none
User Action: required
Scope: unchanged
Confidentiality: high
Integrity: high
Availability: high
Weaknesses: NVD-CWE-noinfo

Metadata

Primary Vendor: ZSH
Published: 2/14/2022
Last Modified: 11/21/2024
Source: NIST NVD
Note: Verify all details with official vendor sources before applying patches.

Affected Products

zsh : zshfedoraproject : fedorafedoraproject : fedoradebian : debian_linuxdebian : debian_linuxdebian : debian_linuxapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : mac_os_xapple : macosapple : macos

Remediation Guidance

Executive Summary

Cite this page

CVE-2021-45444. CVEDatabase.com. Retrieved 1 May 2026. https://cvedatabase.com/cve/CVE-2021-45444

View on NIST NVD

CVE-2021-45444 vulnerability