CVE-2021-21370 — cms-backend
MEDIUMCVE-2021-21370 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.4) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in typo3/cms-backend. A fix is available for typo3/cms-backend — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Cross-Site Scripting in Content Preview (CType menu)
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-21370 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,386 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
typo3/cms-backend🐘typo3/cms-backend🐘typo3/cms-backend🐘typo3/cms-backend🐘typo3/cms-backend🐘typo3/cms-core🐘typo3/cms-core🐘typo3/cms-core+3 moreReal-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
Problem
It has been discovered that content elements of type menu are vulnerable to cross-site scripting when their referenced items get previewed in the page module. A valid backend user account is needed to exploit this vulnerability.
Solution
Update to TYPO3 versions 7.6.51, 8.7.40, 9.5.25, 10.4.14, 11.1.1 that fix the problem described.
Credits
Thanks to TYPO3 contributor Oliver Bartsch who reported and fixed the issue.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | typo3/cms-backend | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.6.51 | 7.6.51composer require typo3/cms-backend:^7.6.51 |
| 🐘Packagist | typo3/cms-backend | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.7.40 | 8.7.40composer require typo3/cms-backend:^8.7.40 |
| 🐘Packagist | typo3/cms-backend | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.5.25 | 9.5.25composer require typo3/cms-backend:^9.5.25 |
| 🐘Packagist | typo3/cms-backend | ≥ 10.0.0&&< 10.4.14 | 10.4.14composer require typo3/cms-backend:^10.4.14 |
| 🐘Packagist | typo3/cms-backend | ≥ 11.0.0&&< 11.1.1 | 11.1.1composer require typo3/cms-backend:^11.1.1 |
| 🐘Packagist | typo3/cms-core | ≥ 10.0.0&&< 10.4.14 | 10.4.14composer require typo3/cms-core:^10.4.14 |
Affected Products
typo3typo3Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for typo3/cms-backend, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update typo3/cms-backend to 7.6.51 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-21370 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-21370 in your dependencies?
Find it across Packagist, including transitive dependencies.