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Moveit TransferApplication · Progress

CVE-2021-38159

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2019.0.8 / 2019.1.7 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
In certain Progress MOVEit Transfer versions before 2021.0.4 (aka 13.0.4), SQL injection in the MOVEit Transfer web application could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to gain access to the database. Depending on the database engine being used (MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, or Azure SQL), an attacker may be able to infer information about the structure and contents of the database, or execute SQL statements that alter or delete database elements, via crafted strings sent to unique MOVEit Transfer transaction types. The fixed versions are 2019.0.8 (11.0.8), 2019.1.7 (11.1.7), 2019.2.4 (11.2.4), 2020.0.7 (12.0.7), 2020.1.6 (12.1.6), and 2021.0.4 (13.0.4).

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 confidence

SQL injection vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer web application allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain database access via crafted strings sent to unique transaction types. Attackers can infer database structure/contents and execute/modify/delete SQL statements depending on the database engine (MySQL, MSSQL, or Azure SQL).

MitigationUpgrade to fixed versions (2019.0.8, 2019.1.7, 2019.2.4, 2020.0.7, 2020.1.6, or 2021.0.4 and later) or apply vendor patches to remediate this critical vulnerability.

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
Moveit TransferApplication
Affected:< 2019.0.8>= 2019.1, < 2019.1.7>= 2019.2, < 2019.2.4>= 2020.0, < 2020.0.7>= 2020.1, < 2020.1.6>= 2021.0, < 2021.0.4

CVSS 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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify MOVEit Transfer version
    Log into the MOVEit Transfer admin interface and navigate to Help > About, or check the version displayed on the login page. On Windows, you can also check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\MOVEit Transfer\CurrentVersion or inspect the installed program's properties.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: < 2019.0.8; >= 2019.1 and < 2019.1.7; >= 2019.2 and < 2019.2.4; >= 2020.0 and < 2020.0.7; >= 2020.1 and < 2020.1.6; >= 2021.0 and < 2021.0.4
  2. Confirm web application is accessible
    Verify that the MOVEit Transfer web interface (typically ports 80/443 or configured IIS bindings) is reachable from the network. Check IIS site bindings or firewall rules to determine external exposure.
    Affected if The web application is exposed to network access (especially untrusted networks) and the version is within the affected ranges listed above
  3. Verify database engine configuration
    Check the MOVEit Transfer configuration files or admin settings to identify which database engine is in use (MySQL, MSSQL, or Azure SQL). This information is typically found in the installation documentation or web.config file in the installation directory.
    Affected if The application uses MySQL, MSSQL, or Azure SQL as its database backend and the version is vulnerable

You are affected if MOVEit Transfer is exposed as a web application and its installed version is lower than 2019.0.8, 2019.1.7, 2019.2.4, 2020.0.7, 2020.1.6, or 2021.0.4 (or falls within the specific affected ranges between these versions).

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2019.0.8 / 2019.1.7 / 2019.2.4 or later
Fixed in 2019.0.82019.1.72019.2.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to fixed versions (2019.0.8, 2019.1.7, 2019.2.4, 2020.0.7, 2020.1.6, or 2021.0.4 and later) or apply vendor patches to remediate this critical vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to one of the fixed versions: 2019.0.8, 2019.1.7, 2019.2.4, 2020.0.7, 2020.1.6, or 2021.0.4 (recommended: latest stable 2021.0.4)

  1. Identify the currently installed MOVEit Transfer version by checking the application or system documentation
  2. Determine which upgrade path applies based on current version (2019.0.x, 2019.1.x, 2019.2.x, or 2020.0.x)
  3. Review the fixed versions list: 2019.0.8, 2019.1.7, 2019.2.4, 2020.0.7, 2020.1.6, or 2021.0.4
  4. Create a complete backup of the MOVEit Transfer database and configuration files
  5. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment to verify compatibility
  6. Apply the upgrade to the production MOVEit Transfer installation
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the application version
  8. Confirm the SQL injection vulnerability is resolved by reviewing release notes or running vulnerability scans
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or behavioral changes between versions; test thoroughly in staging before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Moveit Transfer Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,200.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-38159 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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