PlutoApplication · Apache
CVE-2021-36737
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 input fields of the Apache Pluto UrlTestPortlet are vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. Users should migrate to version 3.1.1 of the v3-demo-portlet.war artifact
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 confidenceThe Apache Pluto UrlTestPortlet contains reflected XSS vulnerabilities in its input fields. User-supplied input is rendered back to the browser without proper sanitization or output encoding, allowing attackers to inject malicious JavaScript that executes in the context of other users' sessions.
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
PlutoApplication
< 3.1.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Apache Pluto installationLocate the Apache Pluto installation directory or WAR files deployed to your servlet container. Look for pluto*.war files or a pluto deployment directory.Affected if Apache Pluto is present on the system with a version earlier than 3.1.1
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Check v3-demo-portlet.war versionFind the v3-demo-portlet.war file or its extracted deployment directory. Check the version manifest or filename for version information below 3.1.1.Affected if The v3-demo-portlet.war version is earlier than 3.1.1
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Verify UrlTestPortlet is deployedExamine the deployed portlet applications to confirm the UrlTestPortlet from the v3-demo-portlet is currently active and accessible.Affected if The UrlTestPortlet is currently deployed and accessible to users
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Test for reflected XSS in input fieldsAccess the UrlTestPortlet interface and submit a test payload containing script tags or HTML in the URL input field, then inspect the response to see if input is reflected without encoding.Affected if User-supplied input is returned in the response without proper sanitization or HTML encoding
A user is affected if Apache Pluto with v3-demo-portlet.war version earlier than 3.1.1 is deployed and the UrlTestPortlet is accessible, allowing unsanitized input reflection.
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.
dbcve · scoped3.1.1
Migrate to version 3.1.1 of the v3-demo-portlet.war artifact to obtain the patched version.
Apache Pluto v3-demo-portlet.war version 3.1.1
- 1. Identify the current version of Apache Pluto and the v3-demo-portlet.war artifact deployed in your environment
- 2. Download version 3.1.1 of the v3-demo-portlet.war artifact from the official Apache Pluto distribution
- 3. Backup your current deployment configuration and data
- 4. Undeploy the vulnerable v3-demo-portlet.war from your portal container
- 5. Deploy the fixed v3-demo-portlet.war version 3.1.1
- 6. Restart the portal container to ensure the new version is fully initialized
- 7. Verify the UrlTestPortlet is functioning correctly and that the XSS vulnerability is remediated by testing input fields with benign script payloads
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Pluto
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-36737 — 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-2021-36737 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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