CVE-2024-38038
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 · uneditedThere is a reflected XSS vulnerability in Esri Portal for ArcGIS versions 11.1 which may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to create a crafted link which when clicked could potentially execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the victim’s browser.
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 confidenceReflected XSS vulnerability in Esri Portal for ArcGIS version 11.1 allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript through crafted URLs. When victims click these specially constructed links, the malicious payload is reflected back and executed in their browsers, potentially enabling session hijacking, credential theft, or defacement.
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= 10.7.1= 10.8.1= 10.9.1CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 Esri Portal for ArcGIS installation versionAccess the Portal Administrator Directory (typically at https://[hostname]/arcgis/portal/admin) and navigate to the 'Portal - Get Portal Properties' or check the welcome page footer for the version number. Alternatively, check the installation logs or the 'portalversion' file in the installation directory.Affected if The installed version matches 10.7.1, 10.8.1, or 10.9.1 exactly.
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Confirm the web application is accessible and unauthenticatedVerify that the Esri Portal for ArcGIS web interface is accessible over HTTP/HTTPS to external or untrusted networks. Attempt to reach the portal login page from a non-authenticated browser session.Affected if The portal web interface is exposed and reachable without authentication.
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Review URL parameters for unvalidated input reflectionAnalyze HTTP requests and responses when interacting with the portal URL endpoints. Observe whether user-supplied parameters in the URL (such as query strings or path segments) are reflected back in the HTML response without proper encoding.Affected if User-supplied values in URLs are returned verbatim in page content without sanitization, indicating potential reflected XSS.
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Inspect for malicious URL patterns in logsReview web server access logs and ArcGIS Portal logs for unusual URL patterns containing script tags (<script>), javascript:, or HTML event handlers (onerror, onload) in query parameters.Affected if Logs contain requests with suspicious characters typical of XSS payloads targeting the portal.
You are affected if your Esri Portal for ArcGIS is version 10.7.1, 10.8.1, or 10.9.1 AND the web interface is accessible, making it possible for attackers to craft malicious URLs that execute JavaScript in victim browsers.
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 dataApply vendor patch from Esri for version 11.1; implement output encoding and input validation on affected parameters as interim measure; educate users about not clicking untrusted links.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,904.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-38038 — 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-2024-38038 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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- 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