CVE-2021-39179 | SQL Injection in DHIS2 Tracker API

Exp

DHIS 2 is an information system for data capture, management, validation, analytics and visualization. A SQL Injection vulnerability in the Tracker component in DHIS2 Server allows authenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via unspecified vectors. This vulnerability affects the `/api/trackedEntityInstances` and `/api/trackedEntityInstances/query` API endpoints in all DHIS2 versions 2.34, 2.35, and 2.36. It also affects versions 2.32 and 2.33 which have reached _end of support_ - exceptional security updates have been added to the latest *end of support* builds for these versions. Versions 2.31 and older are unaffected. The system is vulnerable to attack only from users that are logged in to DHIS2, and there is no known way of exploiting the vulnerability without first being logged in as a DHIS2 user. The vulnerability is not exposed to a non-malicious user - the vulnerability requires a conscious attack to be exploited. A successful exploit of this vulnerability could allow the malicious user to read, edit and delete data in the DHIS2 instance. There are no known exploits of the security vulnerabilities addressed by these patch releases. Security patches are available in DHIS2 versions 2.32-EOS, 2.33-EOS, 2.34.7, 2.35.7, and 2.36.4. There is no straightforward known workaround for DHIS2 instances using the Tracker functionality other than upgrading the affected DHIS2 server to one of the patches in which this vulnerability has been fixed. For implementations which do NOT use Tracker functionality, it may be possible to block all network access to POST to the `/api/trackedEntityInstances`, and `/api/trackedEntityInstances/query` endpoints as a temporary workaround while waiting to upgrade.

Published: 2021-10-29 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-39179 is rated High Exploit Risk (78.1/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.86%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). EPSS rose +1.13% 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-2021-39179

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-39179

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 0.73% 1.86% +1.13%
2 2025-11-21 0.60% 0.73% +0.12%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.60% —

Full EPSS history (14 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-39179

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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.
 2.8 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-2021-39179

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-39179

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
dhis2 dhis_2 >= 2.32.0, <= 2.32.7 cpe:2.3:a:dhis2:dhis_2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
dhis2 dhis_2 >= 2.33.0, <= 2.33.9 cpe:2.3:a:dhis2:dhis_2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
dhis2 dhis_2 >= 2.35.0, < 2.35.7 cpe:2.3:a:dhis2:dhis_2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
dhis2 dhis_2 >= 2.36.0, < 2.36.4 cpe:2.3:a:dhis2:dhis_2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-39179

cvelogic Threat Intelligence