How severe is CVE-2021-39192?

CVE-2021-39192 has a CVSS score of 7.2/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-39192?

CVE-2021-39192 affects the following packages: ghost (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2021-39192?

Update ghost to 4.10.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-39192 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-39192 in my npm dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-39192 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.

Is CVE-2021-39192 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-39192 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-2021-39192?

CVE-2021-39192 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.0%, placing it in the 62th 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-2021-39192?

CVE-2021-39192 is classified as Information Exposure (CWE-200), Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2021-39192 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-39192 was published on September 3, 2021 and was last updated on August 7, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2021-39192 — ghost

HIGH

CVE-2021-39192 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.2) Information Exposure vulnerability in ghost. A fix is available for ghost — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Privilege escalation: all users can access Admin-level API keys

Also known asBIT-ghost-2021-39192GHSA-j5c2-hm46-wp5c

Published

Sep 3, 2021

Updated

Aug 7, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Oct 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs62th percentile — riskier than 62% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2021-39192 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

7other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

ghostnpm

19Kdownloads / week

Description

Impact

An error in the implementation of the limits service in 4.0.0 allows all authenticated users (including contributors) to view admin-level API keys via the integrations API endpoint, leading to a privilege escalation vulnerability.

Ghost(Pro) has already been patched. Self-hosters are impacted if running Ghost a version between 4.0.0 and 4.9.4. Immediate action should be taken to secure your site - see patches & workarounds below.

It is highly recommended to regenerate all API keys after patching or applying the workaround below.

Patches

Fixed in 4.10.0, all 4.x sites should upgrade as soon as possible.

Workarounds

Disable all non-Administrator accounts to prevent API access.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

email us at [email protected]

Credits: Aden Yap Chuen Zhen, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence (Malaysia)

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`ghost`	≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.10.0	4.10.0`npm install ghost@4.10.0`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

ghostghost

≥ 4.0.0 && < 4.10.0

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for ghost, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update ghost to 4.10.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-39192 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact An error in the implementation of the limits service in 4.0.0 allows all authenticated users (including contributors) to view admin-level API keys via the integrations API endpoint, leading to a privilege escalation vulnerability. Ghost(Pro) has already been patched. Self-hosters are impacted if running Ghost a version between 4.0.0 and 4.9.4. Immediate action should be taken to secure your site - see patches & workarounds below. It is highly recommended to regenerate all API keys after patching or applying the workaround below. ### Patches Fixed in 4.10.0, all 4.x sites should u