CVE-2021-44978
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 · uneditediCMS <= 8.0.0 allows users to add and render a comtom template, which has a SSTI vulnerability which causes remote code execution.
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 confidenceiCMS versions 8.0.0 and earlier contain a Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) vulnerability in the custom template add/render functionality. Attackers can inject malicious template syntax that gets evaluated server-side, leading to arbitrary command execution on the host system.
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<= 8.0.0CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify iCMS installation and versionCheck your web application directories for iCMS files, typically in the web root. Look for version information in any version.php, VERSION file, or the admin dashboard about page. Compare the found version against the affected range <= 8.0.0.Affected if iCMS version 8.0.0 or earlier is installed
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Locate custom template functionalityNavigate through the iCMS admin interface or inspect the codebase for the custom template add/render feature. This is typically found in the template management section of the admin panel or via routes like /template or /custom in the application.Affected if The custom template add/render feature exists and is accessible in the installation
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Verify custom template feature is enabledCheck the application configuration files (often in a config directory) for settings that control template functionality. Look for variables related to template creation, custom templates, or template rendering permissions.Affected if Custom template functionality is not disabled in the configuration
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Confirm template rendering access controlTest whether the template add/render endpoint accepts input by submitting template syntax (use safe test syntax like {{7*7}} in a test environment). Verify if unauthenticated or low-privilege users can access and submit template content.Affected if Template rendering accepts and evaluates arbitrary template syntax from users without proper authorization
You are affected if iCMS version 8.0.0 or earlier is running with custom template functionality enabled and accessible to users who should not have template code execution privileges.
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 iCMS to a version newer than 8.0.0 if available, or disable the custom template functionality until a patch is applied. If patching is not possible, implement strict input validation on template content and restrict template rendering permissions to trusted admin users only.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-44978 — 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-2021-44978 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
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