CVE-2021-29440 | Twig allowing dangerous PHP functions by default

Exp

Grav is a file based Web-platform. Twig processing of static pages can be enabled in the front matter by any administrative user allowed to create or edit pages. As the Twig processor runs unsandboxed, this behavior can be used to gain arbitrary code execution and elevate privileges on the instance. The issue was addressed in version 1.7.11.

Published: 2021-04-13 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-29440 is rated High Exploit Risk (78.1/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 11.16%, 94th percentile). 3 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). 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-2021-29440

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
49961 exploit_db edb 2021-06-07 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-29440

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 2026-04-15 14.44% 11.16% -3.27%
2 2026-01-29 18.42% 14.44% -3.99%
3 2025-11-21 — 18.42% —

Full EPSS history (31 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-29440

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.4 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.7 6.0 [email protected]
7.2 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.2 5.9 [email protected]
6.5 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-29440

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-29440

GHSA-g8r4-p96j-xfxc · Severity: high · Ecosystem: composer — Grav's Twig processing allowing dangerous PHP functions by default

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-29440

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
getgrav grav < 1.7.11 cpe:2.3:a:getgrav:grav:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-29440

cvelogic Threat Intelligence