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Arcgis ServerApplication · Esri

CVE-2021-29116

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
A stored Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Esri ArcGIS Server feature services versions 10.8.1 and 10.9 (only) feature services may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to pass and store malicious strings via crafted queries which when accessed could potentially execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the user’s browser.

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

A stored Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Esri ArcGIS Server feature services versions 10.8.1 and 10.9 allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code through crafted queries. The malicious payload is stored on the server and executes in victim's browsers when they access the affected feature service data.

MitigationUpgrade ArcGIS Server to version 10.9.1 or later (or apply the vendor security patch), and implement input validation and output encoding on feature service query endpoints as a defense-in-depth measure.

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
Arcgis ServerApplication
Affected:= 10.8.1= 10.9.0

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify ArcGIS Server version
    Locate the installed ArcGIS Server version through the Server Manager console, the ArcGIS Administrator directory, or by checking system inventory tools that track Esri software installations
    Affected if The installed version is 10.8.1 or 10.9.0
  2. Confirm feature services are enabled
    Access the ArcGIS Server Services Directory (typically at /arcgis/rest/services) and verify that feature services are published and accessible
    Affected if Feature services are published and publicly accessible without authentication
  3. Check query endpoint accessibility
    Navigate to a feature service query endpoint (usually /arcgis/rest/services/<service>/FeatureServer/<layer>/query) and verify whether unauthenticated requests are accepted
    Affected if The query endpoint accepts requests from unauthenticated or anonymous users
  4. Inspect feature service configuration
    Review the feature service configuration in ArcGIS Server Manager or the REST Admin directory to confirm if input validation or output encoding is explicitly disabled or lacking
    Affected if Input validation and output encoding are not configured on the query endpoint

You are affected if your ArcGIS Server installation is version 10.8.1 or 10.9.0 and feature service query endpoints are accessible to unauthenticated users.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade ArcGIS Server to version 10.9.1 or later (or apply the vendor security patch), and implement input validation and output encoding on feature service query endpoints as a defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

ArcGIS Server 10.9.1 or later (10.10, 11.x recommended)

  1. 1. Identify the current ArcGIS Server version by accessing the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory
  2. 2. Confirm the exact version is either 10.8.1 or 10.9.0 to confirm this CVE applies
  3. 3. Plan an upgrade to ArcGIS Server 10.9.1 or a later stable release (such as 10.10 or 11.x) that includes the security fix for this stored XSS vulnerability
  4. 4. Before upgrading, perform a full backup of the ArcGIS Server configuration, including the config store and directory structure
  5. 5. Review Esri's upgrade documentation and release notes for the target version
  6. 6. Execute the upgrade following Esri's standard upgrade procedure for ArcGIS Server
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the feature services are functioning correctly
  8. 8. Test that the XSS fix is properly applied by confirming stored malicious scripts in crafted queries no longer execute
Caveat Review release notes for breaking changes between 10.9.0 and the target upgrade version; newer major versions (11.x) may have API or configuration changes requiring testing

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

Fix this in Arcgis Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2021-29116 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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