CVE-2021-33111 - A Deep Dive into This Unused and Rejected Vulnerability

In the vast world of cybersecurity, not every vulnerability reported ends up as a critical flaw making headlines. Some CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) are reviewed, considered, and then ultimately marked as "Rejected" or "Unused." One such case is CVE-2021-33111. In this post, we'll shed light on what this CVE is (or isn't), why it was rejected, and what these cases teach us about the process of vulnerability management.

What is CVE-2021-33111?

When you first see a CVE number like CVE-2021-33111, your instinct may be to search exhaustively for a risky security bug or a patch that needs urgent attention. However, this specific CVE tells a different story. Instead of a harmful flaw, this entry in the CVE database stands for a vulnerability report that never actually impacted anyone: it was unused and ultimately rejected.

Here’s the official entry from MITRE

> CVE-2021-33111
> REJECT
> Reason: This candidate was withdrawn by its submitter. It was accidentally assigned and is not an active problem for any product.

Source: CVE-2021-33111 at MITRE

Why Are Some CVEs Rejected?

The world of vulnerability tracking is complex. Sometimes, CVE identifiers are assigned preemptively in response to early reports or unconfirmed issues. After further review or when new information comes in, these CVEs might be marked as "Rejected" for several reasons:

The request was made in error.

With CVE-2021-33111, it's clear that the CVE was created but later found to be unnecessary.

The “Code” Behind CVE-2021-33111

Since this CVE is unused, there’s no associated exploit, patch, or vulnerable source code. If you search for practical examples or exploit scripts, you’ll find none. However, to illustrate how a rejected CVE might look programmatically in vulnerability tracking tools, here’s a small Python snippet:

cve_entry = {
    "id": "CVE-2021-33111",
    "status": "Rejected",
    "reason": "This is unused."
}

def check_vulnerability(cve_id):
    if cve_entry["id"] == cve_id and cve_entry["status"] == "Rejected":
        print(f"{cve_id} is not an active vulnerability: {cve_entry['reason']}")
    else:
        print(f"{cve_id} may need further review.")

check_vulnerability("CVE-2021-33111")
# Output: CVE-2021-33111 is not an active vulnerability: This is unused.

This simple example shows how security systems may automatically ignore or filter out rejected CVEs.

Official References

- MITRE CVE Details for CVE-2021-33111
- NVD Entry for CVE-2021-33111

Exploit and Impact Details

There are no known exploits or software risks associated with CVE-2021-33111. Because it's unused and rejected, security professionals and developers can rest easy – nothing needs to be fixed or patched in your codebase for this one.

Final Thoughts

Mistakes, misunderstandings, or simply over-precaution can lead to CVEs being assigned for non-issues. Rather than being a sign of weakness, the "Rejected" status attached to entries like CVE-2021-33111 is a mark of diligence in the community. It shows that the process works—not everything reported is a threat, and the system is strong enough to correct itself.

Next time you come across a CVE marked as rejected or unused, remember: not every vulnerability number is a call to action—and that’s just as important as finding the bugs themselves.

Timeline

Published on: 02/23/2024 21:15:08 UTC
Last modified on: 02/26/2025 06:26:22 UTC