What is CVE-2021-43849?

CVE-2021-43849 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio (npm), affecting versions < 5.0.1. It is fixed in 5.0.1.

How severe is CVE-2021-43849?

CVE-2021-43849 has a CVSS score of 6.2 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Which versions of cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio are affected by CVE-2021-43849?

cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio (npm) versions < 5.0.1 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2021-43849?

Yes. CVE-2021-43849 is fixed in 5.0.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2021-43849 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2021-43849 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

What actually determines whether CVE-2021-43849 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

How do I fix CVE-2021-43849?

Upgrade cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio to 5.0.1 or later.

CVE-2021-43849 in cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio

Q: How severe is CVE-2021-43849?

CVE-2021-43849 has a CVSS score of 6.2 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Q: Which versions of cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio are affected by CVE-2021-43849?

cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio (npm) versions < 5.0.1 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2021-43849?

Yes. CVE-2021-43849 is fixed in 5.0.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2021-43849 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2021-43849 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2021-43849 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2021-43849?

Upgrade cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio to 5.0.1 or later.

Summary

cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio DoS vulnerability

Sending a specially crafted intent with an invalid/empty extras de.niklasmerz.cordova.biometric.BiometricActivity can cause the app to crash. sending the intent repeatedly can prevent the app using this plugin from working, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition.

Mitigation

Version 5.0.1 of the cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio doesn't export the activity anymore and is no longer vulnerable.

If you want to fix older versions change the attribute android:exported of this code snippet in plugin.xml to false:

<config-file target="AndroidManifest.xml" parent="application">
      <activity android:name="de.niklasmerz.cordova.biometric.BiometricActivity" android:theme="@style/TransparentTheme" android:exported="false"/>
</config-file>

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory please go to the discussion on GitHub.

Impact

A 3rd party app/remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious intent to the target device, causing the app using this plugin from working to crash or become unresponsive, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition.

CVE-2021-43849 has a CVSS score of 6.2 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (5.0.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio (< 5.0.1)

Security releases

cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio → 5.0.1 (npm)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

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Remediation advice

Please upgrade to version 5.0.1 as soon as possible.

Please check out the release on GitHub.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-43849? CVE-2021-43849 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio (npm), affecting versions < 5.0.1. It is fixed in 5.0.1.
How severe is CVE-2021-43849? CVE-2021-43849 has a CVSS score of 6.2 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
Which versions of cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio are affected by CVE-2021-43849? cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio (npm) versions < 5.0.1 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2021-43849? Yes. CVE-2021-43849 is fixed in 5.0.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2021-43849 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2021-43849 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
What actually determines whether CVE-2021-43849 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
How do I fix CVE-2021-43849? Upgrade cordova-plugin-fingerprint-aio to 5.0.1 or later.