CVE-2021-21014
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedMagento versions 2.4.1 (and earlier), 2.4.0-p1 (and earlier) and 2.3.6 (and earlier) are vulnerable to a file upload restriction bypass. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution by an authenticated attacker. Access to the admin console is required for successful exploitation.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceMagento versions 2.4.1 and earlier, 2.4.0-p1 and earlier, and 2.3.6 and earlier contain a file upload restriction bypass vulnerability in the admin console. An authenticated attacker with admin access can bypass file upload restrictions to execute arbitrary code on the server.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 2.3.6= 2.3.6= 2.4.0= 2.4.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Magento versionCheck the composer.json file in the Magento root directory for the 'version' field, or log into the admin panel and navigate to System > Tools > Web Setup Wizard > System Upgrade to view the current versionAffected if The installed version is 2.3.6, 2.4.0, 2.4.1, or any version earlier than 2.3.6 (versions below 2.3.6)
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Confirm admin user access existsReview the admin_user database table or check if admin login functionality is accessible and there are active admin accounts in the systemAffected if There is at least one active admin user account configured, as the vulnerability requires authenticated admin access to exploit
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Check file upload functionality in adminNavigate to the admin panel and locate file upload features such as product image uploads, CMS page attachments, or theme asset uploads. These are the vectors where the restriction bypass could be attemptedAffected if File upload features are available and accessible in the admin console for the authenticated admin user
A user is affected if their Magento installation runs version 2.3.6, 2.4.0, or 2.4.1 (or any version earlier than 2.3.6) AND has active admin user accounts with access to file upload functionality in the admin panel.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped2.3.6
Apply the official Magento security patch or upgrade to a patched version. Additionally, restrict admin access to trusted personnel and monitor for suspicious file upload activity in the admin panel.
Magento 2.3.7 or 2.4.2 (or 2.4.1-p1)
- Verify current Magento installation version by checking composer.json or admin panel
- Back up the entire Magento installation including database
- Place site in maintenance mode to prevent user access during upgrade
- Run composer command to update Magento packages: composer require magento/product-community-edition:<fixed_version> --no-update
- Run composer update to install new packages: composer update
- Clear cached files: rm -rf var/cache var/generation var/di etc.
- Run Magento setup upgrade: bin/magento setup:upgrade
- Recompile DI: bin/magento setup:di:compile
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21014 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-21014 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data