# CVE-2021-25919: Cross-site scripting in openemr

> A highly privileged attacker can inject arbitrary code via user input fields in OpenEMR, leading to stored XSS and potential account takeover.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 Mar 2021
- **Updated:** 30 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gcm2-9g3r-53gm

## What is CVE-2021-25919?

CVE-2021-25919 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Open-Emr Openemr, published on 22 Mar 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

In OpenEMR, versions 5.0.2 to 6.0.0 are vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site-Scripting (XSS) due to user input not being validated properly. A highly privileged attacker could inject arbitrary code into input fields when creating a new user.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-25919?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Open-Emr Openemr.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-25919?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-25919 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-25919 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-25919 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Open-Emr Openemr

- [CVE-2026-24898](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24898/): OpenEMR has an Unauthenticated MedEx Token Disclosure (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-24849](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24849/): OpenEMR Arbitrary File Read Vulnerability (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-24908](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24908/): OpenEMR has SQL Injection in Patient API Sort Parameter (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2022-2734](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2734/): Improper Restriction of Rendered UI Layers or Frames in openemr/openemr (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2024-22611](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-22611/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-25919 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-25919 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Open-Emr Openemr, published on 22 Mar 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-25919 exists.

Affected product: Open-Emr Openemr. 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-2021-25919/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25919/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-25919
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-25919
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-25919

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25919/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.