# CVE-2021-3980: Exposure of Private Personal Information to an Unauthorized Actor in elgg/elgg

> An attacker can access private personal information of other users in the Elgg social networking platform without authorization.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 3 Dec 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hx6g-q9v2-xh7v

## What is CVE-2021-3980?

CVE-2021-3980 is a medium-severity vulnerability in elgg/elgg, published on 3 Dec 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

elgg is vulnerable to Exposure of Private Personal Information to an Unauthorized Actor

Weakness: CWE-359 (Exposure of Private Personal Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-3980?

4 open source packages ship an affected version, including elgg/elgg. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `elgg/elgg` | Packagist | All versions | 3.3.23 |
| `elgg/elgg` | Packagist | All versions | 3.3.23 |
| `elgg/elgg` | Packagist | From 4.0.0 | 4.0.5 |
| `elgg/elgg` | Packagist | From 4.0.0 | 4.0.5 |

Products: Elgg Elgg.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-3980?

Upgrade elgg/elgg to a fixed version for your release line: 3.3.23 or 4.0.5.

## Is CVE-2021-3980 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3980 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in elgg/elgg

- [CVE-2011-2936](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-2936/): SQL injection in Elgg (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-4072](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4072/): Cross-site Scripting (XSS) - Stored in elgg/elgg (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2012-6562](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-6562/): Missing authorization in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2011-2935](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-2935/): Elgg Reflected XSS Vulnerability (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2019-11016](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11016/): Elgg open redirect (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-3980 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-3980 is a medium-severity vulnerability in elgg/elgg, published on 3 Dec 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3980 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- elgg/elgg (Packagist): affected all versions; fixed in 3.3.23
- elgg/elgg (Packagist): affected all versions; fixed in 3.3.23
- elgg/elgg (Packagist): affected from 4.0.0; fixed in 4.0.5
- elgg/elgg (Packagist): affected from 4.0.0; fixed in 4.0.5

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-2021-3980/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3980/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-3980
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3980
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-3980

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3980/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.