CVE-2021-21649 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.4) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in org.jenkins-ci.plugins:dashboard-view. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 72.7% (99th percentile). A fix is available for org.jenkins-ci.plugins:dashboard-view — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Cross-site Scripting in Jenkins Dashboard View Plugin
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-2021-21649 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 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.jenkins-ci.plugins:dashboard-view☕org.jenkins-ci.plugins:dashboard-viewReal-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 Dashboard View Plugin prior to 2.16 and 2.12.1 does not escape URLs referenced in Image Dashboard Portlets, resulting in a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exploitable by attackers with View/Configure permission.
As part of this fix, the property for image URLs was changed from url to imageUrl. Existing Configuration as Code configurations are still supported, but exports will emit the new property.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.jenkins-ci.plugins:dashboard-view | ≥ 2.13&&< 2.16 | 2.16org.jenkins-ci.plugins:dashboard-view:2.16 |
| ☕Maven | org.jenkins-ci.plugins:dashboard-view | all versions | 2.12.1org.jenkins-ci.plugins:dashboard-view:2.12.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.jenkins-ci.plugins:dashboard-view, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.jenkins-ci.plugins:dashboard-view to 2.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-21649 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-2021-21649 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2021-21649. 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-2021-21649 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2021-21649 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.