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Crafter CmsApplication · Craftercms

CVE-2021-23263

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.1.15 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Unauthenticated remote attackers can read textual content via FreeMarker including files /scripts/*, /templates/* and some of the files in /.git/* (non-binary).

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 confidence

Unauthenticated remote attackers can read arbitrary textual files via FreeMarker template engine through path traversal. The vulnerability affects files in /scripts/*, /templates/*, and non-binary files in /.git/* directories, allowing exposure of potentially sensitive configuration and source code.

MitigationImplement strict input validation and access controls on FreeMarker template rendering to prevent path traversal. Restrict file access to authorized paths and disable or sandbox FreeMarker template execution for untrusted user input.

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
Crafter CmsApplication
Affected:>= 3.1.0, < 3.1.15

CVSS 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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed CrafterCMS version
    Locate the version file or check the CrafterCMS management console for the running version. Common locations include version.properties in the installation directory or the About section in the admin console.
    Affected if version is 3.1.0 through 3.1.14 (any version >= 3.1.0 but < 3.1.15)
  2. Confirm FreeMarker template engine is accessible
    Verify that the FreeMarker template rendering is enabled and accessible. This is typically enabled by default in CrafterCMS for the /scripts/* and /templates/* endpoints.
    Affected if FreeMarker template processing is enabled and exposed via HTTP endpoints
  3. Check network accessibility
    Determine if the CrafterCMS server is accessible over the network without authentication. The vulnerability is exploitable by unauthenticated remote attackers.
    Affected if the server accepts connections from untrusted networks or the internet without requiring authentication
  4. Verify vulnerable path exposure
    Test access to the /scripts/*, /templates/*, and /.git/* directories via HTTP requests to see if path traversal allows reading arbitrary text files.
    Affected if these endpoints are accessible without authentication and allow path traversal sequences like ../

The environment is affected if CrafterCMS version is 3.1.0 through 3.1.14 AND FreeMarker template rendering is enabled AND the server is accessible to unauthenticated users who can reach the vulnerable endpoints.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.1.15 or later
Fixed in 3.1.15
Interim mitigation

Implement strict input validation and access controls on FreeMarker template rendering to prevent path traversal. Restrict file access to authorized paths and disable or sandbox FreeMarker template execution for untrusted user input.

Recommended fix High confidence

Crafter CMS 3.1.15 or later

  1. 1. Backup your current Crafter CMS installation and database
  2. 2. Download Crafter CMS version 3.1.15 or later from the official source (docs.craftercms.org)
  3. 3. Stop the Crafter CMS services
  4. 4. Upgrade the Crafter CMS installation to version 3.1.15 or later following the official upgrade documentation
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by testing that the FreeMarker template engine no longer allows unauthorized file access
  6. 6. Restart Crafter CMS services
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or feature changes between your current version and 3.1.15

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Crafter Cms Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

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 locally
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-23263 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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