CVE-2021-36023 | Magento Commerce Widgets Update Layout XML Injection Vulnerability Could Lead To Remote Code Execution

Magento Commerce versions 2.4.2 (and earlier), 2.4.2-p1 (and earlier) and 2.3.7 (and earlier) are affected by an XML Injection vulnerability in the Widgets Update Layout. An attacker with admin privileges can trigger a specially crafted script to achieve remote code execution.

Published: 2023-09-06 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-36023 is rated High Risk (73.1/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 16.28%, 95th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +3.42% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-36023

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 2026-06-01 12.86% 16.28% +3.42%
2 2026-03-17 11.90% 12.86% +0.96%
3 2026-02-27 — 11.90% —

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-36023

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.1 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/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:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
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.
 2.3 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]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-36023

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-36023

GHSA-8cjg-f53m-8m9q · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: composer — Magento XML Injection vulnerability in the Widgets Update Layout

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-36023

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
magento magento < 2.3.7 cpe:2.3:a:magento:magento:*:*:*:*:commerce:*:*:*
magento magento < 2.3.7 cpe:2.3:a:magento:magento:*:*:*:*:open_source:*:*:*
magento magento >= 2.4.0, < 2.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:magento:magento:*:*:*:*:commerce:*:*:*
magento magento >= 2.4.0, < 2.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:magento:magento:*:*:*:*:open_source:*:*:*
magento magento 2.3.7 cpe:2.3:a:magento:magento:2.3.7:-:*:*:commerce:*:*:*
magento magento 2.3.7 cpe:2.3:a:magento:magento:2.3.7:-:*:*:open_source:*:*:*
magento magento 2.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:magento:magento:2.4.2:-:*:*:commerce:*:*:*
magento magento 2.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:magento:magento:2.4.2:-:*:*:open_source:*:*:*
magento magento 2.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:magento:magento:2.4.2:p1:*:*:commerce:*:*:*
magento magento 2.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:magento:magento:2.4.2:p1:*:*:open_source:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-36023

cvelogic Threat Intelligence