How severe is CVE-2021-3291?

CVE-2021-3291 has a CVSS score of 7.2/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-3291?

CVE-2021-3291 affects the following packages: zencart/zencart (Packagist). Ecosystems affected: Packagist.

How do I fix CVE-2021-3291?

Update zencart/zencart to 1.5.7c or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-3291 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-3291 in my Packagist dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for zencart/zencart. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-3291 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2021-3291?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-3291 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2021-3291 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 3 known exploit references for CVE-2021-3291, including 1 documented proof-of-concept exploit on Exploit-DB and 2 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-3291?

CVE-2021-3291 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 16.8%, placing it in the 97th 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 warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

When was CVE-2021-3291 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-3291 was published on January 26, 2021 and was last updated on March 14, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐘 Packagist

CVE-2021-3291

HIGH

Zen Cart vulnerable to authenticated remote code execution

Also known asGHSA-38f9-4vhq-9cr8

Published

Jan 26, 2021

Updated

Mar 14, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

3 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

16.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk97th percentile-15.83%

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.

Blast Radius

1 pkg affected

🐘zencart/zencart

Real-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

Zen Cart 1.5.7b allows admins to execute arbitrary OS commands by inspecting an HTML radio input element (within the modules edit page) and inserting a command.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐘Packagist	`zencart/zencart`	all versions	1.5.7c

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-49608webappsphp✓ Verified

Zen Cart 1.5.7b - Remote Code Execution (Authenticated)

by Mücahit Saratar · Mar 2, 2021

Exploit-DB Source

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for zencart/zencart. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update zencart/zencart to 1.5.7c or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-3291 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-3291 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to CVE-2021-3291. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Zen Cart 1.5.7b allows admins to execute arbitrary OS commands by inspecting an HTML radio input element (within the modules edit page) and inserting a command.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-3291 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2021-3291 across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works