CVE-2021-32718 | Improper Neutralization of Script-Related HTML Tags in a Web Page (Basic XSS) in RabbitMQ management UI

Exp

RabbitMQ is a multi-protocol messaging broker. In rabbitmq-server prior to version 3.8.17, a new user being added via management UI could lead to the user's bane being rendered in a confirmation message without proper `<script>` tag sanitization, potentially allowing for JavaScript code execution in the context of the page. In order for this to occur, the user must be signed in and have elevated permissions (other user management). The vulnerability is patched in RabbitMQ 3.8.17. As a workaround, disable `rabbitmq_management` plugin and use CLI tools for management operations and Prometheus and Grafana for metrics and monitoring.

Published: 2021-06-28 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-32718 is rated Exploit Available (53.1/100): CVSS Low severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.44%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). EPSS rose +1.36% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. 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-2021-32718

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-32718

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 2026-06-15 0.07% 1.44% +1.36%
2 2025-11-21 0.36% 0.07% -0.29%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.36% —

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-32718

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
3.1 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
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.
 0.5 2.5 [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-2021-32718

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-32718

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2021-32718 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (rabbitmq-server), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 4, open 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-32718
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-32718
suse low — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-32718/
ubuntu low CVE-2021-32718 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (rabbitmq-server), 14 status rows across 14 suites (bionic, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 8, ignored 3, released 2, DNE 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-32718

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-32718

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
vmware rabbitmq < 3.8.17 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:rabbitmq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-32718

cvelogic Threat Intelligence