Improper certificate management in AWS IoT Device SDK v2
The AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Java, Python, C++ and Node.js appends a user supplied Certificate Authority (CA) to the root CAs instead of overriding it on Unix systems. TLS handshakes will thus succeed if the peer can be verified either from the user-supplied CA or the system’s default trust-store. Attackers with access to a host’s trust stores or are able to compromise a certificate authority already in the host's trust store (note: the attacker must also be able to spoof DNS in this case) may be able to use this issue to bypass CA pinning. An attacker could then spoof the MQTT broker, and either drop traffic and/or respond with the attacker's data, but they would not be able to forward this data on to the MQTT broker because the attacker would still need the user's private keys to authenticate against the MQTT broker. The 'aws_tls_ctx_options_override_default_trust_store_*' function within the aws-c-io submodule has been updated to override the default trust store. This corrects this issue. This issue affects: Amazon Web Services AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Java versions prior to 1.5.0 on Linux/Unix. Amazon Web Services AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Python versions prior to 1.6.1 on Linux/Unix. Amazon Web Services AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for C++ versions prior to 1.12.7 on Linux/Unix. Amazon Web Services AWS IoT Device SDK v2 for Node.js versions prior to 1.5.3 on Linux/Unix. Amazon Web Services AWS-C-IO 0.10.4 on Linux/Unix.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | software.amazon.awssdk.iotdevicesdk:aws-iot-device-sdk | < 1.5.0 | 1.5.0 |
| npm package | aws-iot-device-sdk-v2 | < 1.5.3 | 1.5.3 |
| Python (PyPI) | awsiotsdk | < 1.6.1 | 1.6.1 |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-40830
- https://github.com/aws/aws-iot-device-sdk-java-v2/commit/67950ad2a02f2f9355c310b69dc9226b017f32f2
- https://github.com/aws/aws-iot-device-sdk-js-v2/commit/53a36e3ac203291494120604d416b6de59177cac
- https://github.com/aws/aws-iot-device-sdk-python-v2/commit/0450ce68add7e3d05c6d781ecdac953c299c053a
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-c4rh-4376-gff4
- https://github.com/aws/aws-iot-device-sdk-cpp-v2
- https://github.com/aws/aws-iot-device-sdk-java-v2
- https://github.com/aws/aws-iot-device-sdk-js-v2
- https://github.com/aws/aws-iot-device-sdk-python-v2
- https://github.com/awslabs/aws-c-io
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/awsiotsdk/PYSEC-2021-863.yaml
- https://github.com/awslabs/aws-c-io/
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-295- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven), npm, Python (PyPI)
- Package
software.amazon.awssdk.iotdevicesdk:aws-iot-device-sdk, aws-iot-device-sdk-v2, awsiotsdk- Disclosed
- 23.11.2021
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 11:20
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2021-863 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-c4rh-4376-gff4 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: awsiotsdk
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
- 4
- First → latest
- 11.2021 11.2021
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- High 3
- Medium 1
Disclosures per year
- 2021: 4
- 2022: 0
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 0
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 0
-
Improper certificate management in AWS IoT Device SDK v2 this entry
Know which vulnerabilities affect your application
With the DockRay integration and software inventory enabled, DockRay checks reported component versions against known vulnerabilities and notifies you about confirmed matches. Coverage depends on the supported technology and available advisory data.