CVE-2021-21263 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-74 vulnerability in laravel/framework. A fix is available for laravel/framework — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Query Binding Exploitation
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-21263 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,333 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
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 | 8.22.1composer require laravel/framework:^8.22.1 |
| 🐘Packagist | illuminate/database | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.30.3 | 7.30.3composer require illuminate/database:^7.30.3 |
| 🐘Packagist | illuminate/database | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.22.1 | 8.22.1composer require illuminate/database:^8.22.1 |
| 🐘Packagist | illuminate/database | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.20.12 | 6.20.12composer require illuminate/database:^6.20.12 |
| 🐘Packagist | laravel/framework | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.20.11 | 6.20.11composer require laravel/framework:^6.20.11 |
| 🐘Packagist | laravel/framework | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.30.2 | 7.30.2composer require laravel/framework:^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, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2021-21263 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
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 Security finds CVE-2021-21263 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.