CVE-2021-21263
MEDIUMCVE-2021-21263 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-74 vulnerability in laravel/framework. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2021-21263 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Query Binding Exploitation
Blast Radius
laravel/framework🐘illuminate/database🐘illuminate/database🐘illuminate/database🐘laravel/framework🐘laravel/frameworkReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Laravel is a web application framework. Versions of Laravel before 6.20.11, 7.30.2 and 8.22.1 contain a query binding exploitation. This same exploit applies to the illuminate/database package which is used by Laravel. If a request is crafted where a field that is normally a non-array value is an array, and that input is not validated or cast to its expected type before being passed to the query builder, an unexpected number of query bindings can be added to the query. In some situations, this will simply lead to no results being returned by the query builder; however, it is possible certain queries could be affected in a way that causes the query to return unexpected results.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | laravel/framework | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.22.1 | 8.22.1 |
| 🐘Packagist | illuminate/database | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.30.3 | 7.30.3 |
| 🐘Packagist | illuminate/database | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.22.1 | 8.22.1 |
| 🐘Packagist | illuminate/database | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.20.12 | 6.20.12 |
| 🐘Packagist | laravel/framework | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.20.11 | 6.20.11 |
| 🐘Packagist | laravel/framework | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.30.2 | 7.30.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for laravel/framework. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update laravel/framework to 8.22.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-21263 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-21263 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2021-21263. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-21263 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2021-21263 across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.