CVE-2021-40525 | Sieve file storage vulnerable to path traversal attacks

Apache James ManagedSieve implementation alongside with the file storage for sieve scripts is vulnerable to path traversal, allowing reading and writing any file. This vulnerability had been patched in Apache James 3.6.1 and higher. We recommend the upgrade. Distributed and Cassandra based products are also not impacted.

Published: 2022-01-04 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-40525 is rated High Risk (68.2/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 3.71%). 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-2021-40525

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 2.77% 3.71% +0.93%
2 2025-12-23 3.72% 2.77% -0.95%
3 2025-12-03 — 3.72% —

Full EPSS history (17 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-40525

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:N/UI:N/S:U/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: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: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:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 3.9 5.2 [email protected]
6.4 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N 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:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
 10.0 4.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-40525

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-40525

GHSA-c38m-7h53-g9v4 · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: maven — Path traversal in Apache James

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-40525

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache james < 3.6.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:james:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-40525

URL Tags
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/4 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/02/07/1 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/04/4 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
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