CVE-2021-33500
7.5 · HIGHOverview
CVE-2021-33500 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting putty putty. It was published on May 21, 2021 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
PuTTY before 0.75 on Windows allows remote servers to cause a denial of service (Windows GUI hang) by telling the PuTTY window to change its title repeatedly at high speed, which results in many SetWindowTextA or SetWindowTextW calls. NOTE: the same attack methodology may affect some OS-level GUIs on Linux or other platforms for similar reasons.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from putty. Update putty to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| putty | putty | >= 0, < 0.75 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-33500?
CVE-2021-33500 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting putty putty. It was published on May 21, 2021 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2021-33500?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2021-33500?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from putty. Update putty to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2021-33500?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2021-33500 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
Automated penetration testing that runs continuously, not just quarterly.
AI-driven PR review catches vulnerable dependencies before they ship.
Browser-based exploitation validates findings with real proof-of-concept.
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