MediawikiCMS

CVE-2021-46147

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.35.5 / 1.36.3 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
An issue was discovered in MediaWiki before 1.35.5, 1.36.x before 1.36.3, and 1.37.x before 1.37.1. MassEditRegex allows CSRF.

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

CSRF vulnerability in MediaWiki's MassEditRegex extension allows attackers to trick authenticated administrators into performing unintended wiki modifications by leveraging cross-site request forgery. The vulnerability stems from missing or improper anti-CSRF token validation in the MassEditRegex functionality.

MitigationUpgrade MediaWiki to version 1.35.5, 1.36.3, 1.37.1, or later to apply the security patch that adds proper CSRF token validation to the MassEditRegex feature.

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
MediawikiCMS
Affected:< 1.35.5>= 1.36.0, < 1.36.3>= 1.37.0, < 1.37.1

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. Identify the installed MediaWiki version
    Access the Special:Version page on your wiki (usually at /wiki/Special:Version) or check the includes/Defines.php file in your MediaWiki installation directory for the MW_VERSION constant
    Affected if The installed version is less than 1.35.5, or between 1.36.0 and 1.36.3, or between 1.37.0 and 1.37.1
  2. Verify if the MassEditRegex extension is installed
    Check your LocalSettings.php file for a line containing 'wfLoadExtension' or 'require_once' that references MassEditRegex, or check the extensions/ directory for a MassEditRegex folder
    Affected if The MassEditRegex extension is loaded in your MediaWiki configuration
  3. Confirm the extension is enabled for use
    Check if the extension is listed as active on Special:Version, or verify that administrators have access to the special page provided by MassEditRegex (typically Special:MassEditRegex)
    Affected if The MassEditRegex extension is installed and active on the wiki

Your wiki is affected if it runs a vulnerable MediaWiki version (below 1.35.5, 1.36.x before 1.36.3, or 1.37.x before 1.37.1) AND has the MassEditRegex extension installed and enabled.

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 1.35.5 / 1.36.3 / 1.37.1 or later
Fixed in 1.35.51.36.31.37.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade MediaWiki to version 1.35.5, 1.36.3, 1.37.1, or later to apply the security patch that adds proper CSRF token validation to the MassEditRegex feature.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.35.5, 1.36.3, or 1.37.1 (select based on your current branch)

  1. Back up your MediaWiki database and configuration files
  2. Determine your current MediaWiki branch (1.35.x, 1.36.x, or 1.37.x)
  3. Download the appropriate fixed version: 1.35.5+ for 1.35 branch, 1.36.3+ for 1.36 branch, or 1.37.1+ for 1.37 branch
  4. Replace the MediaWiki files with the new version, preserving your LocalSettings.php and any custom configuration
  5. Run the maintenance/update.php script to apply any database schema changes
  6. Clear any caching systems (e.g., PHP opcache, CDN caches)
Caveat Review the release notes for your target version as there may be configuration or extension compatibility changes

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

Fix this in Mediawiki Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-46147 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-46147 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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