CVE-2021-3223 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in node-red-dashboard. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 18.5% (97th percentile). A fix is available for node-red-dashboard — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Path traversal in Node-RED-Dashboard
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-2021-3223 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 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
node-red-dashboardnpmDescription
In Node-RED-Dashboard before 2.26.2 there is a path traversal vulnerability. It allows ui_base/js/..%2f directory traversal to read files.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | node-red-dashboard | all versions | 2.26.2npm install node-red-dashboard@2.26.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for node-red-dashboard, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update node-red-dashboard to 2.26.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-3223 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-2021-3223 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2021-3223. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect CVE-2021-3223
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2021-3223 -u https://target- Template
- Node RED Dashboard <2.26.2 - Local File Inclusion
- Severity
- high
- Impact
- An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to access sensitive information, such as configuration files, credentials, or other sensitive data stored on the server.
- Remediation
- Upgrade Node RED Dashboard to version 2.26.2 or later to mitigate the vulnerability.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (gy741, pikpikcu), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-3223 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2021-3223 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.