How severe is CVE-2021-43798?

CVE-2021-43798 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-43798?

CVE-2021-43798 affects the following packages: github.com/grafana/grafana (Go), github.com/grafana/grafana (Go), github.com/grafana/grafana (Go), github.com/grafana/grafana (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2021-43798?

Update github.com/grafana/grafana to 8.3.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-43798 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-43798 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/grafana/grafana. 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-2021-43798 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-2021-43798?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-43798 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-2021-43798 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 43 known exploit references for CVE-2021-43798, including 1 documented proof-of-concept exploit on Exploit-DB and 24 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-2021-43798?

CVE-2021-43798 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 88.8%, placing it in the 100th 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. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2021-43798 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2021-43798 (Grafana Path Traversal Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2025-10-09. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2025-10-30. The required action was: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-43798?

CVE-2021-43798 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.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2021-43798?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2021-43798, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. A Metasploit module references CVE-2021-43798, which lowers the barrier to weaponization. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2021-43798 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-43798 was published on December 7, 2021 and was last updated on July 9, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2025-10-09 — agencies required to remediate by 2025-10-30

🐹 Go

CVE-2021-43798

HIGH

Grafana path traversal

Also known asBIT-grafana-2021-43798GHSA-8pjx-jj86-j47p

Published

Dec 7, 2021

Updated

Jul 9, 2026

Affected

4 pkgs

Patched

4 / 4

Exploits

43 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

88.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

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

4 pkgs affected

🐹github.com/grafana/grafana🐹github.com/grafana/grafana🐹github.com/grafana/grafana🐹github.com/grafana/grafana

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability. Grafana versions 8.0.0-beta1 through 8.3.0 (except for patched versions) iss vulnerable to directory traversal, allowing access to local files. The vulnerable URL path is: <grafana_host_url>/public/plugins//, where is the plugin ID for any installed plugin. At no time has Grafana Cloud been vulnerable. Users are advised to upgrade to patched versions 8.0.7, 8.1.8, 8.2.7, or 8.3.1. The GitHub Security Advisory contains more information about vulnerable URL paths, mitigation, and the disclosure timeline.

Affected Packages

4 total 4 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/grafana/grafana`	≥ 8.3.0&&< 8.3.1	8.3.1
🐹Go	`github.com/grafana/grafana`	≥ 8.2.0&&< 8.2.7	8.2.7
🐹Go	`github.com/grafana/grafana`	≥ 8.1.0&&< 8.1.8	8.1.8
🐹Go	`github.com/grafana/grafana`	≥ 8.0.0-beta1&&< 8.0.7	8.0.7

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-50581webappsmultiple

Grafana 8.3.0 - Directory Traversal and Arbitrary File Read

by s1gh · Dec 9, 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 github.com/grafana/grafana. 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 github.com/grafana/grafana to 8.3.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-43798 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-2021-43798 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-2021-43798. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability. Grafana versions 8.0.0-beta1 through 8.3.0 (except for patched versions) iss vulnerable to directory traversal, allowing access to local files. The vulnerable URL path is: `<grafana_host_url>/public/plugins//`, where is the plugin ID for any installed plugin. At no time has Grafana Cloud been vulnerable. Users are advised to upgrade to patched versions 8.0.7, 8.1.8, 8.2.7, or 8.3.1. The GitHub Security Advisory contains more information about vulnerable URL paths, mitigation, and the disclosure timeline.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-43798 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2021-43798 across Go 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

CVSS Score

7.5/10

CVSS v3 base score

Vector breakdown

AV:Attack Vector

Network

AC:Attack Complexity

Low

PR:Privileges Required

None

UI:User Interaction

None

S:Scope

Unchanged

C:Confidentiality

High

I:Integrity

None

A: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

Weaponization

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

grafana

6.9/10

Code-Review10/10

Maintained10/10

Branch-Protection5/10

Assessed Jul 20, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Dec 7, 2021

First exploit

Dec 9, 2021

1 day after disclosure — rapid exploitation

KEV added

Oct 9, 2025

Last updated

Jul 9, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2021-43798

GHSA-8pjx-jj86-j47p

BIT-grafana-2021-43798

References

Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorygrafana.com Advisorysecurity.netapp.com Fixopenwall.com Fixopenwall.com Fixgithub.com Fixgithub.com Webcisa.gov Evidencepacketstormsecurity.com

Data from OSV.dev, enriched by O3 Security. Refreshed hourly.

CVE-2021-43798

EPSS Exploitation Probability

Blast Radius

Description

Affected Packages

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

How O3 protects you

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2021-43798 in your dependencies?