VulnerabilityModified
CVE-2021-33477
rxvt-unicode 9.22, rxvt 2.7.10, mrxvt 0.5.4, and Eterm 0.9.7 allow (potentially remote) code execution because of improper handling of certain escape sequences (ESC G Q).
HIGH 8.8EPSS 4.09%
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (4.09%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
rxvt-unicode 9.22, rxvt 2.7.10, mrxvt 0.5.4, and Eterm 0.9.7 allow (potentially remote) code execution because of improper handling of certain escape sequences (ESC G Q). A response is terminated by a newline.
- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 4.09% probability · 91th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-755
- Affected
- eterm project/eterm · mrxvt project/mrxvt · rxvt-unicode project/rxvt-unicode · rxvt project/rxvt · fedoraproject/fedora · debian/debian linux
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS 4.1% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- http://cvs.schmorp.de/rxvt-unicode/Changes?view=logThird Party Advisory
- http://cvs.schmorp.de/rxvt-unicode/src/command.C?r1=1.582&r2=1.583Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://git.enlightenment.org/apps/eterm.git/log/Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/05/msg00026.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/06/msg00010.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/06/msg00011.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/06/msg00012.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6RFMU5YXXNYYVA7G2DAHRXXHO6JKVFUT/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/AO52OLNOOKOCZSJCN3R7Q25XA32BWNWP/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DUV4LDVZVW7KCGPAMFZD4ZJ4FVLPOX4C/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NZWGE2RJONBEHSPCBUAW72NTRTIFKZAX/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SLPVEPBH37EBR4R54RMC6GD33J37HJXD/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/UXAKO6N6NKTR6Z6KVAPEXSZQMRU52SGA/
- https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162621/rxvt-2.7.0-rxvt-unicode-9.22-Code-Execution.htmlExploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202105-17Third Party Advisory
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202209-07Third Party Advisory
- https://sourceforge.net/projects/materm/files/mrxvt%20source/Product, Third Party Advisory
- https://sourceforge.net/projects/rxvt/files/rxvt-dev/Product, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/05/01/20Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/17/1Exploit, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- http://cvs.schmorp.de/rxvt-unicode/Changes?view=logThird Party Advisory
- http://cvs.schmorp.de/rxvt-unicode/src/command.C?r1=1.582&r2=1.583Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://git.enlightenment.org/apps/eterm.git/log/Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/05/msg00026.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/06/msg00010.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/06/msg00011.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/06/msg00012.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6RFMU5YXXNYYVA7G2DAHRXXHO6JKVFUT/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/AO52OLNOOKOCZSJCN3R7Q25XA32BWNWP/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DUV4LDVZVW7KCGPAMFZD4ZJ4FVLPOX4C/
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.