PatchTheCVECVE-2021-29482: xz is a compression and decompression library focusing on the xz format completely written in Go
CVE-2021-29482 is a high-severity flaw (CVSS 7.5) affecting xz. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.
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 allocate
Why this priority
- High severity
- Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action
A fixed release or distro patch exists.
Risk facts
| CVSS score | 7.5 (High) |
| Attack vector | Network (remote) |
| Attack complexity | Low |
| Privileges needed | None |
| User interaction | None |
| EPSS exploit chance | 1.4% (top 27%) |
| CISA exploited list | No |
| Weakness | CWE-835 |
| Published | 2021-04-28 |
| Last modified | 2026-06-17 |
Last updated 2026-06-17 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score
Am I affected?
Timeline
- Published CVE record published
- Updated Record last modified
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.
Quick answers
How do I fix CVE-2021-29482?
xz: upgrade to 0.5.8. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.
Is CVE-2021-29482 being exploited?
CVE-2021-29482 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.
What does CVE-2021-29482 affect?
CVE-2021-29482 affects xz. Severity is high (CVSS 7.5). 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 r
How urgent is CVE-2021-29482?
Priority 50/100. High severity; Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action
Related CVEs
- CVE-2022-1271 HIGH 8.8 UPGRADE DOWNGRADE An arbitrary file write vulnerability was found in GNU gzip's zgrep utility
- CVE-2026-34743 MEDIUM 5.3 UPGRADE XZ Utils provide a general-purpose data-compression library plus command-line tools
- CVE-2024-3094 CRITICAL 10.0 DOWNGRADE Malicious code was discovered in the upstream tarballs of xz, starting with version 5.6.0
- CVE-2020-22916 MEDIUM 5.5 DOWNGRADE An issue discovered in XZ 5.2.5 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via decompression of a crafted f
- CVE-2015-4035 HIGH 7.8 UPGRADE scripts/xzgrep.in in xzgrep 5.2.x before 5.2.0, before 5.0.0 does not properly process file names containing s