CVE-2021-39184 Sandboxed renderers can obtain thumbnails of arbitrary files through the nativeImage API
A sandboxed renderer in Electron can access thumbnails of arbitrary local files, potentially exposing sensitive textual data to attackers.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2021-39184?
CVE-2021-39184 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Electronjs Electron, published on 12 Oct 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Electron is a framework for writing cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. A vulnerability in versions prior to 11.5.0, 12.1.0, and 13.3.0 allows a sandboxed renderer to request a "thumbnail" image of an arbitrary file on the user's system. The thumbnail can potentially include significant parts of the original file, including textual data in many cases. Versions 15.0.0-alpha.10, 14.0.0, 13.3.0, 12.1.0, and 11.5.0 all contain a fix for the vulnerability. Two workarounds aside from upgrading are available. One may make the vulnerability significantly more difficult for an attacker to exploit by enabling `contextIsolation` in one's app. One may also disable the functionality of the `createThumbnailFromPath` API if one does not need it.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-39184?
6 open source packages ship an affected version, including electron. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
electron npm | All versions | 11.5.0 |
electron npm | All versions | 11.5.0 |
electron npm | From 12.0.0 | 12.1.0 |
electron npm | From 12.0.0 | 12.1.0 |
electron npm | From 13.0.0 | 13.3.0 |
electron npm | From 13.0.0 | 13.3.0 |
Products include Electronjs Electron.
How do I fix CVE-2021-39184?
Upgrade electron to a fixed version for your release line: 11.5.0, 12.1.0 or 13.3.0.
Is CVE-2021-39184 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-39184 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Electronjs Electron
- CVE-2017-16151 Chromium Remote Code Execution in electron
- CVE-2018-1000118 Electron protocol handler browser vulnerable to Command Injection
- CVE-2026-34780 Electron: Context Isolation bypass via contextBridge VideoFrame transfer
- CVE-2026-102676 Electron: <webview> can enable Node.js integration in Web Workers despite embedder restrictions
- CVE-2026-102673 Electron drops inherited HTML sandbox restrictions for popups opened through OpenURLFromTab
Sources
Also known as GHSA-mpjm-v997-c4h4.