Home/CVE/Ratpack is a toolkit for creating web applications. In versions prior to 1.9.0, the client side session module uses the
CVE

CVE-2021-294801

Ratpack is a toolkit for creating web applications. In versions prior to 1.9.0, the client side session module uses the

Ratpack is a toolkit for creating web applications. In versions prior to 1.9.0, the client side session module uses the application startup time as the signing key by default. This means that if an attacker can determine this time, and if encryption is not also used (which is recommended, but is not on by default), the session data could be tampered with by someone with the ability to write cookies.

The default configuration is unsuitable for production use as an application restart renders all sessions invalid and is not multi-host compatible, but its use is not actively prevented. As of Ratpack 1.9.0, the default value is a securely randomly generated value, generated at application startup time. As a workaround, supply an alternative signing key, as per the documentation's recommendation.

MEDIUM · CVSS 4.4 EPSS 0.00262
EPSS exploitation odds0.26% · top 82%
Schedule remediation
  • Public exploit or PoC is available
Look this up elsewhere - one-click external pivots
How to read a CVE - triage first, then detect and patch
This page is every public fact about CVE-2021-29480, cross-linked. Its job is to answer one question fast - does this need my attention now? - and then hand you the two things you do about it. Here is how an analyst reads it.
Triage: should I act now? Four signals, and they are not interchangeable:
CVSSseverity - how bad it is IF exploited, 0-10. A high CVSS alone is not urgency; a flaw can be a perfect 10 and never actually be attacked. EPSSprobability - a model’s estimate of the chance it is exploited in the next 30 days, 0-1. This is the “will it actually happen” signal. CISA KEVconfirmed - it is being exploited in the wild right now. The strongest signal on the page; KEV beats any score. Weaponisedavailability - public exploits / PoCs, and especially Metasploit modules rated Excellent / Great. Reliable, packaged exploit code means low-skill attackers can use it today.
How they combine: KEV, or a dependable Metasploit module, means patch now regardless of CVSS. High CVSS + low EPSS + no exploit is real but not an emergency - schedule it. Low CVSS but KEV-listed still gets patched now. The verdict above already weighed these for you; this is how it got there.
Then what - two workflows:
Detectwhen you cannot patch today, follow this CVE to the ATT&CK techniques it enables, then Build a SIEM detection (the green button) - author a rule, test it in Atomic, deploy it. That buys visibility while the patch waits. PatchAffected products / packages tell you if you are exposed; Fixed versions by distribution and Vendor advisories give the exact version that closes it.
Reading order for the panels below: verdict + badges, then Public exploits / Metasploit (is it weaponised), then ATT&CK techniques + Sigma / IDS rules (can I detect it), then Affected products / packages + Fixed versions (am I exposed, what patches it), then Threat actors / IOCs (who uses it), then Scoring & timeline / references (the evidence).

Exploitation evidence

1 of 7 sources
Corroboration score 8/100 · emerging. This counts how many independent sources have exploitation evidence, and separates two different things: confirmed in-the-wild use (CISA KEV, Microsoft MSRC, ransomware activity) from exploit / PoC availability (Metasploit, ExploitDB, Nuclei, public PoCs). A template or PoC existing means an attack is possible and easy - it is not, on its own, proof the CVE is being exploited in the wild.
Exploit / PoC available
public PoC

Severity & exploitation scoring

View on NVD →
CVSS base score
4.4
MEDIUMCVSS v3.1 · [email protected]
EPSS exploitation probability
0.26%
Top 82%odds of exploitation in the next 30 days
CVSS metric silhouette
VectorComplexityPrivilegesInteractionScopeConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
shape grows toward worst-case
SSVC triage
No SSVC vulnrichment for this CVE. CISA's Vulnrichment program scores newer CVEs (~2024 onwards) plus selected older critical ones. Use the EPSS probability + KEV status to triage instead.
CVSS vector breakdown
Exploitability - how they get in
Attack Vector
Network Adjacent Local Physical
Attack Complexity
Low High
Privileges Required
None Low High
User Interaction
None Required
Scope
Unchanged Changed
Impact - what breaks
Confidentiality
None Low High
Integrity
None Low High
Availability
None Low High
VECTORCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Lifecycle
  1. 29 Jun 2021Published to NVD
  2. 17 Jun 2026Last modified
Every entry is a recorded date - NVD publish/modify, CISA KEV add, public exploit disclosure. No inferred events.
Attack path
Full kill chain

Public Exploits & PoCs

1
These PoC and exploit links come from public sources and are not verified to be safe or functional. Review the code before running anything, and treat unverified entries as untrusted. Signed-in users mark whether it works, rate 1-10, and can report malware with a required reason that becomes a public comment.
poc ratpack/ratpack (trickest) date unknown
Vote & rate
Report or claim
⚠ Report this PoC

Becomes a public comment attributed as First L. (never full last name). Don't include private info. Rate-limited: 5/hour.

Works? no reports yet
Rating -

ATT&CK techniques

1

Techniques this CVE enables. Pills with a solid outline are high confidence - named directly in ATT&CK or Nuclei, or human-curated by CTID; the rest are inferred from the weakness type using MITRE's CVE Mapping Methodology and the CWE → CAPEC chain. Broad, generic-weakness guesses are filtered out. A small marks a technique that N independent sources agree on.

▤ Build a SIEM detection for these techniques

CAPEC attack patterns

3

Affected Products & Versions

1

Affected Packages

1
Language-ecosystem packages (from OSV) tied to this CVE, with the version that fixes it - the dependency-level detail NVD doesn’t carry.
Maven io.ratpack:ratpack-session MODERATE fixed in 1.9.0
🔗

References & Sources

2
Source URLs (vendor pages, mailing lists, write-ups). Exploit/PoC links are in their own section above to avoid duplication.