# CVE-2021-32698: Blind Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in eLabFTW

> Attackers can force the server to make blind GET requests, potentially accessing internal resources or bypassing network restrictions.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 21 Jun 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mh6g-62p8-26m4

## What is CVE-2021-32698?

CVE-2021-32698 is a medium-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in elabftw, published on 21 Jun 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

eLabFTW is an open source electronic lab notebook for research labs. This vulnerability allows an attacker to make GET requests on behalf of the server. It is "blind" because the attacker cannot see the result of the request. Issue has been patched in eLabFTW 4.0.0.

Weakness: CWE-918 (Server-Side Request Forgery)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-32698?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Elabftw Elabftw.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-32698?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-32698 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-32698 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-32698 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in elabftw

- [CVE-2021-43834](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43834/): Incorrect Authentication in elabftw (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2024-28100](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-28100/): Stored Cross-site Scripting leading to arbitrary actions taken on behalf of users in elabftw (high 8.9)
- [CVE-2019-12185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12185/): File upload in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-25632](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-25632/): Unauthorised granting of administrator privileges over arbitrary teams under certain circumstances (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2025-25206](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-25206/): Incorrect input validation could allow an authenticated user to read sensitive information (high 8.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-32698 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-32698 is a medium-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in elabftw, published on 21 Jun 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-32698 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: elabftw. 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-2021-32698/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32698/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-32698
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32698
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-32698

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32698/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.