Vulnerability Snapshot
CVE-2021-33574 is rated CRITICAL โ exploitation is trivial or already observed in the wild and impact is severe. Patch immediately, not on the next maintenance window.
Affected technology: glibc, fedora, cloud_backup, e-series_santricity_os_controller, solidfire_baseboard_management_controller_firmware, plus 5 other product variants.
Executive Summary
The mq_notify function in the GNU C Library (aka glibc) versions 2.32 and 2.33 has a use-after-free. It may use the notification thread attributes object (passed through its struct sigevent parameter) after it has been freed by the caller, leading to a denial of service (application crash) or possibly unspecified other impact.
Why It Matters
CVE-2021-33574 is rated CRITICAL severity, requiring immediate attention from security teams.
CVSS Base Score: 9.8/10
EPSS (Exploit Prediction): 2.9% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
Affected Technologies
Vendors: gnu, fedoraproject, netapp, debian
Products: glibc, fedora, cloud_backup, e-series_santricity_os_controller, solidfire_baseboard_management_controller_firmware, h300s_firmware, h300s, h500s_firmware, h500s, h700s_firmware, h700s, h300e_firmware, h300e, h500e_firmware, h500e, h700e_firmware, h700e, h410s_firmware, h410s, debian_linux
๐ก๏ธWhat Defenders Should Check
Use Vulnios to continuously monitor your exposure to CVE-2021-33574 and similar vulnerabilities.
References & Sources
How Vulnios Detects This
Vulnios scans for this vulnerability using Trivy and Grype for CVE matching against your container images and OS package manifests. Run a scan against your environment to see whether you are exposed; findings are linked back to the original CVE record so triage starts with the patch path already known.
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Affected Products
Sources
Related Threat Alerts
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2021-35942 โ gnu, netapp โ glibc, active_iq_unified_manager
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2019-1010022 โ gnu โ glibc
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2019-9169 โ gnu, netapp โ glibc, cloud_backup
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2019-18224 โ gnu โ libidn2
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2026-24061 โ gnu, debian โ inetutils, debian_linux
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-1999-0199 โ gnu โ glibc
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-33574?
CVE-2021-33574 is a critical-severity vulnerability tracked under the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program. The mq_notify function in the GNU C Library (aka glibc) versions 2.32 and 2.33 has a use-after-free. It may use the notification thread attributes object (passed through its struct sigevent parameter)
Am I affected?
Check whether your environment runs glibc, fedora, cloud_backup, e-series_santricity_os_controller, solidfire_baseboard_management_controller_firmware. If you operate any of those, treat yourself as in scope until you have evidence otherwise. A Vulnios scan will identify the exact assets carrying the affected version.
How urgent is the response?
Critical: do not wait for your normal patch cycle. Verify exposure today, apply the vendor patch immediately, and add detection rules for any post-exploit indicators.
How do I remediate?
Apply the vendor patch listed in the upstream advisory linked under Sources. If the patch is not yet available, follow the vendor-supplied workaround (often a config flag or feature disable) and add detections for the published exploit pattern in your SIEM. Re-scan after the patch lands to confirm the finding clears.
Where can I track exploitation activity?
Watch CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog for CVE-2021-33574. Cross-reference with public exploit databases and your own SIEM/IDS for indicator-of-compromise patterns. Vulnios tracks KEV status automatically and surfaces it on the asset findings view.
How does Vulnios help with this?
Vulnios continuously cross-references your asset inventory against the live CVE feed (NVD, vendor advisories, CISA KEV, and curated OSINT). When a new CVE matches your environment, you get a prioritized finding with the severity, KEV status, exploit-prediction (EPSS), and a direct path to the vendor patch. You can start a free scan from the homepage.
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