# CVE-2021-4285: Nagios NCPA tail.html cross site scripting

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary scripts in the Nagios NCPA web interface via a cross-site scripting vulnerability in the tail.html template.

- **Severity:** Low 3.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/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:** 27 Dec 2022
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5899-hhfh-hw26

## What is CVE-2021-4285?

CVE-2021-4285 is a low-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Nagios NCPA, published on 27 Dec 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in Nagios NCPA. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the file agent/listener/templates/tail.html. The manipulation of the argument name leads to cross site scripting. The attack can be initiated remotely. Upgrading to version 2.4.0 is able to address this issue. The name of the patch is 5abbcd7aa26e0fc815e6b2b0ffe1c15ef3e8fab5. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. VDB-216874 is the identifier assigned to this vulnerability.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-4285?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nagios Nagios Cross Platform Agent.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-4285?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-4285 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-4285 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-4285 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Nagios NCPA

- [CVE-2021-43584](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43584/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 4.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-4285 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-4285 is a low-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Nagios NCPA, published on 27 Dec 2022. 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-2021-4285 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Nagios NCPA. 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-2021-4285/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4285/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-4285
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-4285
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-4285

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4285/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.