How severe is CVE-2021-43835?

CVE-2021-43835 has a CVSS score of 7.2/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-43835?

CVE-2021-43835 affects the following packages: sulu/sulu (Packagist), sulu/sulu (Packagist), sulu/sulu (Packagist). Ecosystems affected: Packagist.

How do I fix CVE-2021-43835?

Update sulu/sulu to 2.2.18 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-43835 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-43835 in my Packagist dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-43835 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-2021-43835 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-43835 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-2021-43835?

CVE-2021-43835 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.2%, placing it in the 67th 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-2021-43835?

CVE-2021-43835 is classified as Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2021-43835 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-43835 was published on December 15, 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.

🐘

🐘 Packagist

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2021-43835 — sulu

HIGHFix: sulu/sulu@30bf8b5

CVE-2021-43835 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.2) Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in sulu/sulu. A fix is available for sulu/sulu — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Privilege escalation in the Sulu Admin panel

Also known asGHSA-84px-q68r-2fc9

Published

Dec 15, 2021

Updated

Aug 7, 2026

Affected

3 pkgs

Patched

3 / 3

Exploits

None indexed

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

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk+0.04%

Lower risk than most CVEs67th percentile — riskier than 67% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2021-43835 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,386 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

3 pkgs affected

🐘sulu/sulu🐘sulu/sulu🐘sulu/sulu

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

Impact

Impacted are only users which already have access to the admin UI. Over the API it was possible for them to give themselves permissions to areas which they did not already had. This issue was introduced in 2.0.0-RC1 with the new ProfileController putAction.

Patches

The versions have been patched in 2.2.18, 2.3.8 and 2.4.0.

Workarounds

Patching the ProfileController of affected sulu versions yourself by overwriting it.

References

Are there any links users can visit to find out more?

Currently not.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in sulu/sulu repo
Email us at [email protected]

Affected Packages

3 total 3 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐘Packagist	`sulu/sulu`	≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.2.18	2.2.18`composer require sulu/sulu:^2.2.18`
🐘Packagist	`sulu/sulu`	≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.8	2.3.8`composer require sulu/sulu:^2.3.8`
🐘Packagist	`sulu/sulu`	≥ 2.4.0-RC1&&< 2.4.0	2.4.0`composer require sulu/sulu:^2.4.0`

Affected Products

1 product · 3 configurations

Application

sulusulu

≥ 2.3.0 && < 2.3.8

1 version

2.4.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for sulu/sulu, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update sulu/sulu to 2.2.18 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-43835 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 Impacted are only users which already have access to the admin UI. Over the API it was possible for them to give themselves permissions to areas which they did not already had. This issue was introduced in 2.0.0-RC1 with the new ProfileController putAction. ### Patches The versions have been patched in 2.2.18, 2.3.8 and 2.4.0. ### Workarounds Patching the ProfileController of affected sulu versions yourself by overwriting it. ### References _Are there any links users can visit to find out more?_ Currently not. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments