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Fencer Intel
critical 9.8

CVE-2021-43786 json

API token verification can be bypassed

published 4y ago modified 4mo ago also GHSA-hf2m-j98r-4fqw , EUVD-2021-2354

cvss
9.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
2.4%
EPSS 2.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 83%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

Nodebb is an open source Node.js based forum software. In affected versions incorrect logic present in the token verification step unintentionally allowed master token access to the API. The vulnerability has been patch as of v1.18.5. Users are advised to upgrade as soon as possible.

Patch / fix

  • npm nodebb 1.18.5

Is CVE-2021-43786 in your dependencies? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.

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Exploit prediction

2.37% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 83% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

  • blog.sonarsource.com https://blog.sonarsource.com/nodebb-remote-code-execution-with-one-shot/ referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 3.1 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
NVD 2.0 5.0 AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
GitHub 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
npm nodebb
>=1.15.0, <1.18.5
1.18.5

Affected products

  • NodeBB NodeBB

Classification

Weakness

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.