# CVE-2021-32857: Cockpit vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting

> Attackers can execute arbitrary scripts in user browsers via bad HTML sanitization in Cockpit CMS, potentially leading to session hijacking or data theft.

- **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:** 20 Feb 2023
- **Updated:** 10 Mar 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8c8x-phvc-5p9w

## What is CVE-2021-32857?

CVE-2021-32857 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in microweber, published on 20 Feb 2023. 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

Cockpit is a content management system that allows addition of content management functionality to any site. In versions 0.12.2 and prior, bad HTML sanitization in `htmleditor.js` may lead to cross-site scripting (XSS) issues. There are no known patches for this issue.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-32857?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Agentejo Cockpit.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-32857?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-32857 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-32857 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-32857 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in microweber

- [CVE-2023-4195](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-4195/): PHP Remote File Inclusion in cockpit-hq/cockpit (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2024-4825](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4825/): Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type vulnerability on Cockpit CMS from Agentejo (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-2818](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2818/): Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer in cockpit-hq/cockpit (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-35131](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-35131/): Code injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-35846](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-35846/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-32857 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-32857 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in microweber, published on 20 Feb 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, 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-2021-32857 exists.

Affected product: microweber. 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-2021-32857/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32857/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-32857
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32857
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-32857

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32857/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.