CVE-2021-35493
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 · uneditedThe WebFOCUS Reporting Server and WebFOCUS Client components of TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO WebFOCUS Client, TIBCO WebFOCUS Installer, and TIBCO WebFOCUS Reporting Server contain easily exploitable Stored and Reflected Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities that allow a low privileged attacker to social engineer a legitimate user with network access to execute scripts targeting the affected system or the victim's local system. A successful attack using this vulnerability requires human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Affected releases are TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO WebFOCUS Client: versions 8207.27.0 and below, TIBCO WebFOCUS Installer: versions 8207.27.0 and below, and TIBCO WebFOCUS Reporting Server: versions 8207.27.0 and below.
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 confidenceTIBCO WebFOCUS contains stored and reflected XSS vulnerabilities in its WebFOCUS Client and Reporting Server components. Stored XSS allows malicious scripts to persist in the application, while reflected XSS injects scripts through user-supplied input such as URL parameters. Attackers with low privileges can exploit these vulnerabilities through social engineering, requiring human interaction from legitimate users to execute malicious scripts in their browsers.
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<= 8207.27.0<= 8207.27.0<= 8207.27.0CVSS 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.
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Identify installed WebFOCUS Client versionLocate the WebFOCUS installation directory and check version files (commonly in the install root or within version/info subdirectories). Look for a version manifest, README, or product info file displaying the full version number.Affected if The displayed version is 8207.27.0 or any version lower (e.g., 8207.20.0, 8207.15.0)
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Identify installed WebFOCUS Reporting Server versionCheck the Reporting Server installation directory for version information, typically found in version files, about pages, or server logs within the server components folder.Affected if The displayed version is 8207.27.0 or any version lower
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Verify WebFOCUS Client web interface is accessibleAccess the WebFOCUS client portal URL (commonly at /webfocus/ or /ibi_apps/ path) and confirm the application loads. The XSS vulnerability exists in this web-facing component.Affected if The client interface is accessible and the version confirmed as <= 8207.27.0
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Confirm WebFOCUS Reporting Server is activeCheck if the Reporting Server service is running (via system process list, service manager, or server logs). The vulnerability affects this component specifically.Affected if The Reporting Server is running and its version is <= 8207.27.0
Your environment is affected if any WebFOCUS Client or Reporting Server component is running at version 8207.27.0 or below.
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 dataUpgrade TIBCO WebFOCUS to a version above 8207.27.0; implement input validation and output encoding as compensating controls until upgrade is possible.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-35493 — 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-2021-35493 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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- 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
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