CVE-2021-29105
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 · uneditedA stored Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Esri ArcGIS Server Services Directory version 10.8.1 and below may allow a remote authenticated attacker to pass and store malicious strings in the ArcGIS Services Directory.
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 · moderate confidenceA stored Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Esri ArcGIS Server Services Directory versions 10.8.1 and below allows an authenticated remote attacker to inject and store malicious scripts that execute when other users access the Services Directory.
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< 10.9.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify ArcGIS Server installation and versionCheck the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory (e.g., https://yourserver:6443/arcgis/admin) or look for installation directories. Use the 'about' endpoint or check the 'softwareid' response to determine the exact version number.Affected if The installed version is 10.8.1 or below (any version less than 10.9.0)
-
Confirm Services Directory is accessibleNavigate to the Services Directory endpoint (typically https://yourserver:6443/arcgis/rest/services or /arcgis/services) in a web browser or via curl to verify it is publicly or internally accessible.Affected if The Services Directory is enabled and accessible (this is the vulnerable component)
-
Verify authentication is configured for the Services DirectoryCheck the ArcGIS Server security configuration in Administrator Directory under 'security' > 'config'. Determine whether the Services Directory is exposed to authenticated or unauthenticated users.Affected if The Services Directory allows authenticated user access (attacker needs authentication to inject the XSS payload per the CVE description)
-
Review recent Services Directory activity logsAccess ArcGIS Server logs via the Administrator Directory (https://yourserver:6443/arcgis/admin/logs) or check Windows Event Logs/IIS logs for entries involving the Services Directory endpoints that may indicate injection attempts or stored scripts.Affected if Unusual or unauthorized script content appears in Services Directory-related log entries
You are affected if ArcGIS Server version is below 10.9.0 and the Services Directory is enabled and accessible to authenticated users.
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.
From vendor data10.9.0
Implement proper input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied content displayed in the Services Directory to prevent script execution.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-29105 — 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-2021-29105 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
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.
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