# CVE-2021-25938: Cross-site scripting in ArangoDB

> Attackers can exploit Cross-Site Scripting in ArangoDB via malicious zip file names and missing X-Frame-Options headers.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 May 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fm33-4p7j-3jhr

## What is CVE-2021-25938?

CVE-2021-25938 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in ArangoDB, published on 24 May 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

In ArangoDB, versions v2.2.6.2 through v3.7.10 are vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), since there is no validation of the .zip file name and filtering of potential abusive characters which zip files can be named to. There is no X-Frame-Options Header set, which makes it more susceptible for leveraging self XSS by attackers.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-25938?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Arangodb Arangodb.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-25938?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-25938 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-25938 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-25938 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in ArangoDB

- [CVE-2021-25940](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25940/): ArangoDB - Insufficient Session Expiration after Password Change (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-25939](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25939/): ArangoDB - Blind SSRF when Downloading Foxx Service from URL (low 2.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-25938 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-25938 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in ArangoDB, published on 24 May 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-25938 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ArangoDB. 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-2021-25938/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25938/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-25938
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-25938
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-25938

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25938/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.