dbcve.org
SuitecrmApplication · Salesagility

CVE-2021-41597

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.10.35 / 7.12.2 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
SuiteCRM through 7.11.21 is vulnerable to CSRF, with resultant remote code execution, via the UpgradeWizard functionality, if a PHP file is included in a ZIP archive.

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

SuiteCRM through 7.11.21 has a CSRF vulnerability in the UpgradeWizard that allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into uploading and executing arbitrary PHP code. The attack requires embedding a PHP file in a ZIP archive, which gets extracted and executed on the server when the administrator is coerced into triggering the upgrade request.

MitigationAdd anti-CSRF tokens to all UpgradeWizard form submissions and implement strict validation of ZIP archive contents (whitelist allowed file types, reject PHP files) before extraction. Consider requiring explicit step-by-step confirmation for upgrade actions.

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
SuitecrmApplication
Affected:>= 7.10.0, < 7.10.35>= 7.12, < 7.12.2

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Determine SuiteCRM installed version
    Check the version.php file in the SuiteCRM root directory, typically found at include/utils.php or in a VERSION file. Alternatively, check the admin panel under 'About' or 'System Settings' for the exact version number.
    Affected if The installed version falls within >= 7.10.0 and < 7.10.35, or >= 7.12.0 and < 7.12.2.
  2. Verify UpgradeWizard module is present
    Locate the UpgradeWizard directory in the SuiteCRM installation, typically found at include/UpgradeWizard/ or modules/UpgradeWizard/. Check for the presence of upgradeWizard.php and related files.
    Affected if The UpgradeWizard directory and its entry point files exist in the installation.
  3. Check for anti-CSRF token implementation in UpgradeWizard
    Examine the UpgradeWizard PHP files (particularly upgradeWizard.php and any form processing scripts) for the presence of CSRF token validation. Search for token/session validation logic around form submissions.
    Affected if No CSRF token validation is found in the UpgradeWizard form handling code, or tokens are not being validated before processing upgrade requests.
  4. Inspect ZIP archive handling during upgrade
    Review the upgrade package processing code within the UpgradeWizard to see how ZIP files are handled during extraction. Look for file type validation or restrictions on extracted contents.
    Affected if The code extracts ZIP archives without validating file types, allowing arbitrary files including PHP scripts to be written to the server filesystem.

A user is affected if their SuiteCRM version is within the vulnerable ranges AND the UpgradeWizard module is present without proper CSRF token validation on form submissions.

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 7.10.35 / 7.12.2 or later
Fixed in 7.10.357.12.2
Interim mitigation

Add anti-CSRF tokens to all UpgradeWizard form submissions and implement strict validation of ZIP archive contents (whitelist allowed file types, reject PHP files) before extraction. Consider requiring explicit step-by-step confirmation for upgrade actions.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to SuiteCRM 7.10.35 or 7.12.2 (or later) - choose the appropriate branch based on your current major version

  1. 1. Back up your SuiteCRM database and files before performing any upgrade.
  2. 2. Download the appropriate fixed version of SuiteCRM (7.10.35 or 7.12.2 or later) from the official SuiteCRM repository.
  3. 3. Review the Upgrade Wizard documentation at docs.suitecrm.com for proper upgrade procedures.
  4. 4. Execute the upgrade following the standard SuiteCRM upgrade process.
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by logging into the CRM and checking the version number.
  6. 6. Confirm the UpgradeWizard functionality is working correctly and the CSRF protection is in place.
Caveat Review release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and the target version before upgrading

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

Fix this in Suitecrm Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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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-2021-41597 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