Improper authorisation of members discloses room membership to non-members
Impact
Unauthorised users can access the membership (list of members, with their display names) of a room if they know the ID of the room. The vulnerability is limited to rooms with shared history visibility. Furthermore, the unauthorised user must be using an account on a vulnerable homeserver that is in the room.
Patches
Server administrators should upgrade to 1.41.1 or later.
Workarounds
Administrators of servers that use a reverse proxy could, with potentially unacceptable loss of functionality, block the following endpoints:
/_matrix/client/r0/rooms/{room_id}/memberswithatquery parameter/_matrix/client/unstable/rooms/{room_id}/memberswithatquery parameter
References
n/a
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, e-mail us at security@matrix.org.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | matrix-synapse | < 1.41.1 | 1.41.1 |
References
- https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/security/advisories/GHSA-3x4c-pq33-4w3q
- https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/releases/tag/v1.41.1
- https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/commit/cb35df940a
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PXT7ID7DNBRN2TVTETU3SYQHJKEG6PXN/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2VHDEPCZ22GJFMZCWA2XZAGPOEV72POF/
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-39164
- https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/matrix-synapse/PYSEC-2021-425.yaml
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2VHDEPCZ22GJFMZCWA2XZAGPOEV72POF
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PXT7ID7DNBRN2TVTETU3SYQHJKEG6PXN
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-200- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
matrix-synapse- Disclosed
- 31.08.2021
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 13:19
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2021-425 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-3x4c-pq33-4w3q - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: matrix-synapse
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 45
- First → latest
- 03.2019 05.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- High 21
- Medium 21
- Low 3
Disclosures per year
- 2019: 3
- 2020: 3
- 2021: 12
- 2022: 7
- 2023: 9
- 2024: 7
- 2025: 2
- 2026: 2
-
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