CVE-2021-42797
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 · uneditedPath traversal vulnerability in AVEVA Edge (formerly InduSoft Web Studio) versions R2020 and prior allows an unauthenticated user to steal the Windows access token of the user account configured for accessing external DB resources.
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 confidenceAVEVA Edge (formerly InduSoft Web Studio) versions R2020 and prior contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated attacker to steal Windows access tokens. The vulnerability is triggered through the external DB resource configuration, enabling token theft without credentials.
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< 2020= 2020CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 if AVEVA Edge or InduSoft Web Studio is installedCheck the system for the application by searching for 'InduSoft Web Studio' or 'AVEVA Edge' in the Programs and Features control panel, or look in common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\AVEVA or C:\Program Files (x86)\AVEVAAffected if The application is found on the system and the version is R2020 or earlier (versions prior to and including 2020)
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Determine the installed version of AVEVA Edge or InduSoft Web StudioOpen the application and navigate to Help > About, or check the version property of the executable file (typically StudioStudio.exe in the installation folder) by right-clicking and selecting Properties > DetailsAffected if The displayed version number is 2020 or any version number lower than 2020 (for example, 8.1, 8.0, 7.1, etc.)
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Verify if the External Database (DB) resource configuration feature is accessibleIn the IDE environment, check if External DB resources can be configured by examining the project settings, typically found under Application > Settings > Resources or through the Data Source configuration panel where external database connections are definedAffected if The External DB resource configuration feature is present and accessible within the project environment, allowing connection strings or database paths to be defined
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Inspect external DB resource configuration filesLook for configuration files in the project directory with extensions such as .app, .fxp, or .stprj (Studio Project files) that may contain external DB connection definitions. These files may be located in the project folder or in the application data directory (typically under C:\Users\[User]\Documents\InduSoft Web Studio or similar)Affected if External DB resource configurations exist that reference file paths or database connection strings, particularly those that could be manipulated through path traversal
The environment is affected if AVEVA Edge or InduSoft Web Studio R2020 or prior is installed and the External DB resource configuration feature is accessible or configured on the system.
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 data2020
Upgrade AVEVA Edge to a version beyond R2020 that addresses this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement network segmentation to restrict unauthenticated access to the application and apply least-privilege principles to the database service account.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-42797 — 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-2021-42797 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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