CVE-2021-37865
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 · uneditedMattermost 6.2 and earlier fails to sufficiently process a specifically crafted GIF file when it is uploaded while drafting a post, which allows authenticated users to cause resource exhaustion while processing the file, resulting in server-side Denial of Service.
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 confidenceMattermost 6.2 and earlier contains a denial-of-service vulnerability where authenticated users can upload a specifically crafted GIF file while drafting a post, causing excessive resource consumption on the server due to insufficient processing of the file.
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<= 6.2.0CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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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Check Mattermost server versionAccess the Mattermost System Console > About > Mattermost version, or use the CLI command: `mattermost version` or check the /api/v4/system/analytics endpointAffected if The installed version is 6.2.0 or earlier (any version up to and including 6.2.0)
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Verify file upload functionality is enabledNavigate to System Console > File Storage > Enable File Uploads, or inspect the SiteURL and FileSettings in config.jsonAffected if File uploads are enabled and users can attach files to posts
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Confirm GIF file type is permitted for uploadsNavigate to System Console > File Storage > Allowed File Types, or check the FileSettings.AllowedFileTypes configuration in config.jsonAffected if GIF or image/gif is listed in allowed file types
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Identify if authenticated users have posting permissionsCheck System Console > Users > Teams and Roles, or verify through Team/Channel membership that regular authenticated users can create postsAffected if Authenticated (non-admin) users have the ability to create posts in any channel
You are affected if running Mattermost version 6.2.0 or earlier AND file uploads are enabled allowing GIF files for authenticated users who can post.
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 Mattermost to a version after 6.2 to receive the security fix. Consider implementing file size limits or content-length restrictions on GIF uploads as a compensating control if immediate upgrading is not feasible.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37865 — 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-2021-37865 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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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.
- 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