Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CKAN versions 2.9.0 through 2.9.3 can let a signed-in low-privilege user upload an SVG profile picture that stores script in the application. A victim must open the malicious profile picture for the script to run in their browser. The record rates this as medium severity, not a system takeover by itself.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority web application issue. Prioritize public or partner-facing CKAN sites because the attack can affect trusted users’ browser sessions, but available evidence does not indicate mass exploitation or direct server compromise.
Technical view
This is stored cross-site scripting in CKAN profile-picture SVG upload handling. The attacker needs a low-privileged application account, and exploitation requires victim interaction. CVSS 3.1 is 5.4: network reachable, low complexity, low privileges, user interaction required, changed scope, low confidentiality and integrity impact, no availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in CKAN 2.9.0 to 2.9.3 deployments where non-admin users can set profile pictures and victims can view uploaded SVG images.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Abuse would be account-based stored XSS against users who open the malicious profile picture.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description and referenced vulnerability database entry. The sources identify affected CKAN 2.9.0 to 2.9.3 and stored XSS through SVG profile-picture upload, but do not provide patch details, exploit telemetry, or official mitigation text.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory CKAN deployments and identify any running versions 2.9.0 through 2.9.3.
- Check CKAN vendor guidance for the fixed version or official remediation before production changes.
- Restrict profile-picture uploads by untrusted users until official remediation is applied.
- Review existing uploaded SVG profile pictures for suspicious or unexpected content.
Validation and detection
- Confirm the deployed CKAN version on each internet-facing and internal instance.
- Verify whether low-privileged users can upload SVG files as profile pictures.
- Check whether uploaded SVG profile pictures are served back to other users.
- Review logs for recent profile-picture uploads by newly created or low-trust accounts.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-25967 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N2.32.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.whitesourcesoftware.com/vulnerability-database/CVE-2021-25967CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.