# CVE-2021-36803: Akaunting Avatar Persistent XSS

> Attackers can inject malicious scripts via avatar uploads in Akaunting, potentially stealing user sessions or executing code.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6qpx-rx7g-pcgc

## What is CVE-2021-36803?

CVE-2021-36803 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Akaunting, published on 4 Aug 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Akaunting version 2.1.12 and earlier suffers from a persistent (type II) cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in processing user-supplied avatar images. This issue was fixed in version 2.1.13 of the product.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-36803?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Akaunting Akaunting.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-36803?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-36803 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-36803 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36803 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Akaunting

- [CVE-2024-22836](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-22836/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-22390](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-22390/): Code injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-36800](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36800/): Akaunting OS Command Injection in 'Money.php' (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2021-36801](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36801/): Akaunting Authentication Bypass in Company Selection (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2025-55521](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-55521/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-36803 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-36803 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Akaunting, published on 4 Aug 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36803 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Akaunting. 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-2021-36803/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36803/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-36803
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36803
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-36803

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36803/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.