Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2021-38295


In Apache CouchDB, a malicious user with permission to create documents in a database is able to attach a HTML attachment to a document. If a CouchDB admin opens that attachment in a browser, e.g. via the CouchDB admin interface Fauxton, any JavaScript code embedded in that HTML attachment will be executed within the security context of that admin. A similar route is available with the already deprecated _show and _list functionality. This privilege escalation vulnerability allows an attacker to add or remove data in any database or make configuration changes. This issue affected Apache CouchDB prior to 3.1.2


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.3, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from apache organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2021, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2021-10-14T20:15:09.017

Last Modified

2024-11-21T06:16:44.313

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.3 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

  • Access Vector: NETWORK
  • Access Complexity: MEDIUM
  • Authentication: SINGLE
  • Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
  • Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
  • Availability Impact: PARTIAL
Exploitability Score

6.8

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-79

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application apache couchdb < 3.1.2 Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For apache's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.