CVE-2021-3291 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.2) OS Command Injection vulnerability in zencart/zencart. 3 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for zencart/zencart — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Zen Cart vulnerable to authenticated remote code execution
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
zencart/zencartReal-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
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | zencart/zencart | all versions | 1.5.7ccomposer require zencart/zencart:^1.5.7c |
Affected Products
zen cartzen-cartResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Zen Cart 1.5.7b - Remote Code Execution (Authenticated)
by Mücahit Saratar · Mar 2, 2021
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for zencart/zencart, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
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
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-3291 in your dependencies?
Find it across Packagist, including transitive dependencies.