# CVE-2021-3978: Improper Preservation of Permissions in github.com/cloudflare/cfrpki/cmd/octorpki

> CVE-2021-3978: Improper Preservation of Permissions in github.com/cloudflare/cfrpki/cmd/octorpki. CVSS 7.5 (CVSS 3.1).

Canonical: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2021-3978
Last updated: 2026-06-17T04:06:19Z

- Published: 2025-01-29 10:00 UTC · Updated: 2026-06-17 04:06 UTC · Assigner: cloudflare
- CVSS: 7.5 (CVSS 3.1) · Severity: High · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS: 0.14%, 4th percentile (scored 2026-10-25)
- CISA KEV: no
- CWE: CWE-269

## Description

When copying files with rsync, octorpki uses the "-a" flag 0, which forces rsync to copy binaries with the suid bit set as root. Since the provided service definition defaults to root ( https://github.com/cloudflare/cfrpki/blob/master/package/octorpki.service ) this could allow for a vector, when combined with another vulnerability that causes octorpki to process a malicious TAL file, for a local privilege escalation.

## Affected vendors and products

- Cloudflare: octorpki

## Tracked companies

- [Cloudflare](https://rewindex.com/company/cloudflare.md)

## References

- [CVE record on cve.org](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-3978)
- [NVD entry](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3978)
- [https://github.com/cloudflare/cfrpki/security/advisories/GHSA-3pqh-p72c-fj85](https://github.com/cloudflare/cfrpki/security/advisories/GHSA-3pqh-p72c-fj85)

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_Sources: CVE records from the CVE Program (cve.org). CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. (https://www.cve.org/) This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. (https://nvd.nist.gov/) Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog from CISA. (https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog) EPSS scores from FIRST (Exploit Prediction Scoring System). (https://www.first.org/epss/)_


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Canonical: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2021-3978 · Markdown: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2021-3978.md · JSON: https://rewindex.com/api/v1/cves/CVE-2021-3978 · Data licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) · Generated 2026-10-26T03:11:39.946Z