CVE-2021-32819 | Remote code execution in squirrelly

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Squirrelly is a template engine implemented in JavaScript that works out of the box with ExpressJS. Squirrelly mixes pure template data with engine configuration options through the Express render API. By overwriting internal configuration options remote code execution may be triggered in downstream applications. This issue is fixed in version 9.0.0. For complete details refer to the referenced GHSL-2021-023.

Published: 2021-05-14 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-32819 is rated High Exploit Risk (81.7/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 89.62%, 100th percentile). 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-2021-32819

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-32819

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 2026-04-19 89.82% 89.62% -0.20%
2 2026-03-23 91.53% 89.82% -1.71%
3 2026-03-21 91.53%

Full EPSS history (61 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-32819

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.0 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.6 5.8 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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: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.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]
6.8 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P 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:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
8.6 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-32819

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-32819

GHSA-q8j6-pwqx-pm96 · Severity: high · Ecosystem: npm — Insecure template handling in Squirrelly

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-32819

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
squirrelly squirrelly 8.0.8 cpe:2.3:a:squirrelly:squirrelly:8.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-32819

cvelogic Threat Intelligence