How severe is CVE-2021-21698?

CVE-2021-21698 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-21698?

CVE-2021-21698 affects the following packages: org.jenkins-ci.plugins:subversion (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2021-21698?

Update org.jenkins-ci.plugins:subversion to 2.15.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-21698 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-21698 in my Maven dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-21698 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.

Is CVE-2021-21698 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-21698 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-2021-21698?

CVE-2021-21698 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 2.1%, placing it in the 82th 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. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-21698?

CVE-2021-21698 is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22). 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-2021-21698 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-21698 was published on November 4, 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

HIGH severity

CVE-2021-21698 — subversion

HIGHFix: jenkinsci/subversion-plugin@7d1525e

CVE-2021-21698 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in org.jenkins-ci.plugins:subversion. A fix is available for org.jenkins-ci.plugins:subversion — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Path traversal vulnerability in Jenkins Subversion Plugin allows reading arbitrary files

Also known asGHSA-q58j-fhj7-j6fg

Published

Nov 4, 2021

Updated

Oct 24, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Oct 31, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

2.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs82th percentile — riskier than 82% 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.jenkins-ci.plugins:subversion

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

Subversion Plugin 2.15.0 and earlier does not restrict the name of a file when looking up a subversion key file on the controller from an agent.

This allows attackers able to control agent processes to read arbitrary files on the Jenkins controller file system.

Subversion Plugin 2.15.1 checks for the presence of and prohibits directory separator characters as part of the file name, restricting it to the intended directory.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.jenkins-ci.plugins:subversion`	all versions	2.15.1`org.jenkins-ci.plugins:subversion:2.15.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

subversionjenkins

≤ 2.15.0

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.jenkins-ci.plugins:subversion, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.jenkins-ci.plugins:subversion to 2.15.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-21698 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatModerate

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11	`jenkins-2-plugins-0:3.11.1637699107-1.el7`	RHSA-2021:4827
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.10	`jenkins-2-plugins-0:4.10.1643404185-1.el8`	RHSA-2022:0055
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6	`jenkins-2-plugins-0:4.6.1637602169-1.el8`	RHSA-2021:4799
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.7	`jenkins-2-plugins-0:4.7.1637600997-1.el8`	RHSA-2021:4801
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.8	`jenkins-2-plugins-0:4.8.1637599935-1.el8`	RHSA-2021:4829
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.9	`jenkins-2-plugins-0:4.9.1637598812-1.el8`	RHSA-2021:4833

Frequently Asked Questions

Subversion Plugin 2.15.0 and earlier does not restrict the name of a file when looking up a subversion key file on the controller from an agent. This allows attackers able to control agent processes to read arbitrary files on the Jenkins controller file system. Subversion Plugin 2.15.1 checks for the presence of and prohibits directory separator characters as part of the file name, restricting it to the intended directory.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-21698 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

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CVSS Score

7.5/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Raw vector

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

CWE Classification

CWE-22Path Traversal

Weaponization

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

Timeline

Disclosed

Nov 4, 2021

Last updated

Oct 24, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2021-21698

GHSA-q58j-fhj7-j6fg

References

Advisoryopenwall.com Advisoryjenkins.io · 2021 11 04 Advisorynvd.nist.gov · CVE 2021 21698 Webgithub.com · 7d1525edea6641a2febd3f7deeac55c0a89b0d7e Packagegithub.com · subversion plugin

Related vulnerabilities

Also affects subversion

This CVE is high severity — higher than any of the other 7 CVEs affecting subversion (highest there: moderate).

CVE-2020-2304CVE-2020-2111CVE-2013-6372CVE-2017-1000085CVE-2018-1000111CVE-2022-29048CVE-2022-29046

Same weakness: CWE-22

This CVE is high severity, in line with the other 1 CVE with CWE-22.

CVE-2026-62331Browse all CWE-22

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedOct 24, 2026

CVE-2021-21698 — subversion

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

Description

Affected Packages

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

Fixing This On Your OS

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2021-21698 in your dependencies?