CVE-2021-36760
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 · uneditedIn accountrecoveryendpoint/recoverpassword.do in WSO2 Identity Server 5.7.0, it is possible to perform a DOM-Based XSS attack affecting the callback parameter modifying the URL that precedes the callback parameter. Once the username or password reset procedure is completed, the JavaScript code will be executed. (recoverpassword.do also has an open redirect issue for a similar reason.)
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 confidenceA DOM-based XSS vulnerability exists in the accountrecoveryendpoint/recoverpassword.do endpoint of WSO2 Identity Server 5.7.0. The callback parameter is not properly sanitized, allowing an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript that executes in the victim's browser after the password reset procedure completes. The same endpoint also suffers from an open redirect vulnerability due to similar improper handling of the callback parameter.
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= 3.0.0= 3.1.0= 3.2.0= 4.0.0= 5.7.0= 5.8.0= 5.9.0= 5.10.0= 5.11.0= 5.3.0= 5.5.0= 5.6.0= 5.7.0= 5.9.0= 5.10.0= 3.3.1CVSS 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 WSO2 product and versionLocate the product version from the deployment.toml file in the repository/conf directory, or check the product startup banner, or access the /carbon/admin/about.jsp endpoint in the management console.Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected versions: API Manager 3.0.0-4.0.0, Identity Server 5.7.0-5.11.0, Identity Server as Key Manager 5.3.0-5.10.0, or IOT Server 3.3.1 (specific patch versions listed in the CVE)
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Confirm accountrecoveryendpoint is accessibleAttempt to access the /accountrecoveryendpoint/recoverpassword.do endpoint on the server using a browser or HTTP client. Verify the endpoint returns a valid response.Affected if The recoverpassword.do endpoint is reachable and functional on the affected product version
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Test callback parameter for XSSSend a request to recoverpassword.do with a crafted callback parameter such as callback=javascript:alert(document.domain) and examine the response to see if the value is reflected without encoding.Affected if The callback parameter value is reflected in the response without proper HTML encoding, allowing script execution
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Test callback parameter for open redirectSend a request to recoverpassword.do with a callback parameter pointing to an external domain such as callback=https://attacker.com and verify if the application redirects to that arbitrary domain after the password reset flow.Affected if The application accepts and uses the callback parameter value for redirection without validating it against an allowlist
The environment is affected if running a listed product version where the recoverpassword.do endpoint reflects the callback parameter without encoding or allows arbitrary redirect destinations.
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 callback parameter in recoverpassword.do. The callback URL should be validated against an allowlist or normalized to prevent injection of malicious scripts or unauthorized redirect destinations.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-36760 — 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-2021-36760 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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