Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 17 Nov 2021. Known ransomware use
FtaApplication · Accellion

CVE-2021-27104

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-02-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9_12_370 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS 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
Accellion FTA 9_12_370 and earlier is affected by OS command execution via a crafted POST request to various admin endpoints. The fixed version is FTA_9_12_380 and later.

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

Accellion File Transfer Appliance (FTA) versions 9_12_370 and earlier contains a critical OS command injection vulnerability. Attackers can execute arbitrary operating system commands by sending crafted POST requests to various admin endpoints, potentially gaining full control of the affected system.

MitigationUpgrade Accellion FTA to version FTA_9_12_380 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Additionally, restrict network access to admin interfaces and monitor for suspicious administrative activity until the patch can be applied.

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
FtaApplication
Affected:<= 9_12_370

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Accellion FTA installation
    Check for running Accellion FTA processes or services on the system. Look for FTA-related web services on common ports (80, 443, 8443). Use commands like 'ps aux | grep -i accellion' or network scans for FTA banners.
    Affected if Accellion FTA software is installed and running on the system
  2. Determine FTA version number
    Access the FTA admin interface or check version files on the appliance. The version is typically displayed in the admin dashboard or can be retrieved via command line tools provided by FTA.
    Affected if The installed version is 9_12_370 or any version number lower than 9_12_370
  3. Verify admin endpoint exposure
    Check network configuration to determine if FTA admin endpoints are accessible from the network. Review firewall rules and access control lists restricting access to admin interfaces.
    Affected if FTA admin endpoints (POST request handlers) are reachable from untrusted networks or the internet
  4. Check for indicators of compromise
    Review FTA server logs for suspicious POST requests to admin endpoints, especially those containing shell metacharacters or unusual command patterns. Look for unexpected processes or files created after the software installation date.
    Affected if Log analysis reveals suspicious POST requests to admin endpoints or unexpected system modifications

You are affected if Accellion FTA versions 9_12_370 or earlier are installed and their admin endpoints are accessible, regardless of whether compromise has occurred.

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 a release after 9_12_370
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Accellion FTA to version FTA_9_12_380 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Additionally, restrict network access to admin interfaces and monitor for suspicious administrative activity until the patch can be applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

FTA_9_12_380 or later

  1. 1. Back up the Accellion FTA current installation, configuration, and all data before initiating the upgrade.
  2. 2. Download FTA_9_12_380 or later from the official Accellion support portal or authorized distribution channel.
  3. 3. Follow Accellion's official upgrade documentation for applying the patch to your FTA installation.
  4. 4. After upgrade completion, verify the FTA service is running properly.
  5. 5. Test that the admin endpoints are functioning correctly and the vulnerability is no longer present.
  6. 6. Review Accellion's additional security recommendations and apply any post-upgrade hardening steps.
Caveat As this is a security patch upgrade, ensure proper backup and testing in a staging environment before production deployment; review Accellion migration documentation for any configuration adjustments needed.

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

Fix this in Fta Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-27104 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-27104 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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