CVE-2021-42537 | VISAM VBASE Editor Improper Restriction of XML

VISAM VBASE version 11.6.0.6 processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.

Published: 2022-07-27 Last update: 2025-04-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-42537 is rated Low Risk (38.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.20%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2021-42537

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 2025-07-29 0.26% 0.20% -0.06%
2 2025-07-28 0.07% 0.26% +0.19%
3 2025-03-30 0.07%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-42537

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.9 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/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: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:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.6 4.2 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-42537

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-42537

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
visam vbase_web-remote 11.6.0.6 cpe:2.3:a:visam:vbase_web-remote:11.6.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-42537

URL Tags
https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ics/advisories/icsa-21-308-01 Mitigation Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
cvelogic Threat Intelligence