CVE-2021-43421

Exp

A File Upload vulnerability exists in Studio-42 elFinder 2.0.4 to 2.1.59 via connector.minimal.php, which allows a remote malicious user to upload arbitrary files and execute PHP code.

Published: 2022-04-07 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2021-43421 is rated High Exploit Risk (89.2/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 42.78%, 99th percentile). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). 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-2021-43421

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-43421

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 2026-06-24 42.29% 42.78% +0.49%
2 2026-06-15 79.55% 42.29% -37.26%
3 2026-03-26 — 79.55% —

Full EPSS history (40 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-43421

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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: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:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/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: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:P)
Partial availability impact.
 10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-43421

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-43421

GHSA-x4jx-hjwf-gc99 · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: composer — elFinder Unrestricted File Upload vulnerability

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-43421

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
std42 elfinder >= 2.0.4, <= 2.1.59 cpe:2.3:a:std42:elfinder:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-43421

URL Tags
https://github.com/Studio-42/elFinder/issues/3429 Exploit Issue Tracking Third Party Advisory
https://twitter.com/infosec_90/status/1455180286354919425 Third Party Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence