PlutoApplication · Apache
CVE-2021-36739
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 "first name" and "last name" fields of the Apache Pluto 3.1.0 MVCBean JSP portlet maven archetype are vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.
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 confidenceApache Pluto 3.1.0 MVCBean JSP portlet maven archetype contains reflected XSS vulnerabilities in the 'first name' and 'last name' input fields. User-supplied data in these fields is not properly sanitized or encoded before being rendered in the response, allowing attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that executes in victim 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
PlutoApplication
= 3.1.0CVSS 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
- 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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Confirm Apache Pluto versionCheck the installed Apache Pluto version by reviewing the WAR file or deployment manifest, or run: mvn dependency:tree | grep apache-pluto. Also check WEB-INF/lib for pluto-container*.jar and inspect its version metadata.Affected if The version equals 3.1.0 exactly
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Identify MVCBean JSP portlet usageSearch the deployed web application for portlet classes or JSP files that implement the MVCBean pattern. Look for files named similarly to MVCBeanPortlet.java or corresponding JSP views in the webapp directory.Affected if The MVCBean JSP portlet from Apache Pluto 3.1.0 archetype is deployed
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Locate first name and last name input fieldsInspect JSP files in the portlet for HTML form fields named 'firstName', 'lastName', 'first name', or 'last name'. These are typically in registration or profile forms rendered by the MVCBean portlet.Affected if Input fields named 'first name' or 'last name' exist in the JSP
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Check for output encoding in JSP display codeReview the JSP code that renders the first name and last name values back to the browser. Look for JSTL c:out with proper escaping (e.g., <c:out value='${param.firstName}'/>) or equivalent encoding functions. Check if raw EL expressions like ${param.firstName} are used without encoding.Affected if User-supplied values from first name/last name fields are displayed using raw EL expressions or without context-aware encoding (e.g., no c:out, no fn:escapeXml)
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Test reflected XSS manuallySubmit a test payload like <script>alert(1)</script> in the first name or last name field and verify if the payload executes or appears unescaped in the subsequent response page.Affected if The submitted script payload is reflected and executed in the browser response without being encoded or neutralized
A user is affected if Apache Pluto 3.1.0 is running with the MVCBean JSP portlet and the first name or last name fields render user input without proper output encoding, allowing script injection.
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 dataImplement proper input validation and output encoding for the first name and last name fields. Use context-aware encoding functions (such as OWASP ESAPI or equivalent) when displaying user input to prevent script execution.
Fix this in Pluto
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-36739 — 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-2021-36739 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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