CVE-2023-36821 | Uptime Kuma vulnerable to authenticated remote code execution via malicious plugin installation

Exp

Uptime Kuma, a self-hosted monitoring tool, allows an authenticated attacker to install a maliciously crafted plugin in versions prior to 1.22.1, which may lead to remote code execution. Uptime Kuma allows authenticated users to install plugins from an official list of plugins. This feature is currently disabled in the web interface, but the corresponding API endpoints are still available after login. After downloading a plugin, it's installed by calling `npm install` in the installation directory of the plugin. Because the plugin is not validated against the official list of plugins or installed with `npm install --ignore-scripts`, a maliciously crafted plugin taking advantage of npm scripts can gain remote code execution. Version 1.22.1 contains a patch for this issue.

Published: 2023-07-05 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-36821 is rated High Exploit Risk (75.1/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.66%). 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-2023-36821

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-36821

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 2.48% 1.66% -0.82%
2 2026-05-01 2.33% 2.48% +0.15%
3 2026-04-11 — 2.33% —

Full EPSS history (17 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-36821

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]
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]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-36821

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-36821

GHSA-7grx-f945-mj96 · Severity: high · Ecosystem: npm — Uptime Kuma vulnerable to authenticated remote code execution via malicious plugin installation

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-36821

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
uptime-kuma_project uptime-kuma < 1.22.1 cpe:2.3:a:uptime-kuma_project:uptime-kuma:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-36821

cvelogic Threat Intelligence