How severe is CVE-2021-21616?

CVE-2021-21616 has a CVSS score of 4.6/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-21616?

CVE-2021-21616 affects the following packages: org.biouno:uno-choice (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2021-21616?

Update org.biouno:uno-choice to 2.5.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-21616 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-21616 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.biouno:uno-choice, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-21616 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2021-21616 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-21616 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-21616?

CVE-2021-21616 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 76.2%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-21616?

CVE-2021-21616 is classified as Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2021-21616 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-21616 was published on February 24, 2021 and was last updated on October 24, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2021-21616 — uno-choice

MEDIUMFix: jenkinsci/active-choices-plugin@d0b768c

CVE-2021-21616 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.6) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.biouno:uno-choice. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 76.2% (100th percentile). A fix is available for org.biouno:uno-choice — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Stored XSS vulnerability in Jenkins Active Choices Plugin

Also known asGHSA-4f6x-g5vh-8jm5

Published

Feb 24, 2021

Updated

Oct 24, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

76.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

☕org.biouno:uno-choice

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Jenkins Active Choices Plugin 2.5.2 and earlier does not escape reference parameter values.

This results in a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exploitable by attackers with Job/Configure permission.

Jenkins Active Choices Plugin 2.5.3 escapes reference parameter values.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.biouno:uno-choice`	all versions	2.5.3`org.biouno:uno-choice:2.5.3`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

active choicesjenkins

≤ 2.5.2

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.biouno:uno-choice, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.biouno:uno-choice to 2.5.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-21616 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

Jenkins Active Choices Plugin 2.5.2 and earlier does not escape reference parameter values. This results in a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exploitable by attackers with Job/Configure permission. Jenkins Active Choices Plugin 2.5.3 escapes reference parameter values.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-21616 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

4.6/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

None

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

CWE Classification

CWE-79Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

Weaponization

No Nuclei template, Metasploit module or public proof-of-concept found.

Timeline

Disclosed

Feb 24, 2021

Last updated

Oct 24, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2021-21616

GHSA-4f6x-g5vh-8jm5

References

Advisoryopenwall.com Advisoryjenkins.io · 2021 02 24 Advisorynvd.nist.gov · CVE 2021 21616 Webgithub.com · d0b768c18bafd812b52fe579def8b14e26033ec9 Packagegithub.com · active choices plugin

Related vulnerabilities

Also affects uno-choice

This CVE is medium severity, in line with the other 4 CVEs affecting uno-choice.

CVE-2020-2289CVE-2020-2290CVE-2021-21699CVE-2017-1000386

Same weakness: CWE-79

This CVE is medium severity; 2 of 4 other CVEs with CWE-79 are rated as high or higher (top: moderate).

CVE-2026-126075CVE-2026-126063CVE-2026-110802CVE-2026-123364Browse all CWE-79

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedOct 24, 2026