# CVE-2021-21517: XML external entity in SRS Policy Manager

> Remote unauthenticated attackers can exploit an XML External Entity vulnerability in SRS Policy Manager to read system files and disrupt the ESRS service.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Mar 2021
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g33j-xwrp-hpfv

## What is CVE-2021-21517?

CVE-2021-21517 is a high-severity vulnerability in Dell SRS Policy Manager, published on 1 Mar 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

SRS Policy Manager 6.X is affected by an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) vulnerability due to a misconfigured XML parser that processes user-supplied DTD input without sufficient validation. A remote unauthenticated attacker can potentially exploit this vulnerability to read system files as a non-root user and may be able to temporarily disrupt the ESRS service.

Weakness: CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-21517?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Dell Emc Srs Policy Manager.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-21517?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-21517 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-21517 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21517 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-21517 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-21517 is a high-severity vulnerability in Dell SRS Policy Manager, published on 1 Mar 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21517 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Dell SRS Policy Manager. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21517/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21517/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-21517
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21517
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-21517

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21517/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.