CVE-2021-21383 | XSS in Wiki.js

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Wiki.js an open-source wiki app built on Node.js. Wiki.js before version 2.5.191 is vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting through mustache expressions in code blocks. This vulnerability exists due to mustache expressions being parsed by Vue during content injection even though it is contained within a `<pre>` element. By creating a crafted wiki page, a malicious Wiki.js user may stage a stored cross-site scripting attack. This allows the attacker to execute malicious JavaScript when the page is viewed by other users. For an example see referenced GitHub Security Advisory. Commit 5ffa189383dd716f12b56b8cae2ba0d075996cf1 fixes this vulnerability by adding the v-pre directive to all `<pre>` tags during the render.

Published: 2021-03-18 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-21383 is rated High Exploit Risk (61.8/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.26%). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2021-21383

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-21383

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-03-30 0.23% 0.26% +0.03%
2 2025-03-29 0.26% 0.23% -0.03%
3 2025-03-17 0.26%

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-21383

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.6 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.3 4.7 [email protected]
5.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.3 2.7 [email protected]
3.5 2.0 LOW
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
6.8 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-21383

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-21383

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
requarks wiki.js < 2.5.191 cpe:2.3:a:requarks:wiki.js:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-21383

cvelogic Threat Intelligence