Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A logged-in Mautic user could delete files outside intended media folders through the GrapesJS builder. That could remove application libraries, system files, or other important files, causing service disruption or damaging application integrity.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority for any production Mautic instance. The business risk is disruption or application damage from any authenticated account, including a compromised low-privilege user.
Technical view
CVE-2021-27916 is a relative path traversal flaw in Mautic's GrapesJS builder. The CVSS vector shows network access, low privileges, no user interaction, and high integrity and availability impact, with no confidentiality impact indicated.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in Mautic deployments using affected Mautic/core versions with accounts that can log in. The source says access level did not matter, so any valid user account is relevant.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not indicate CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires authenticated access to Mautic, but only low privileges are indicated, making insider or compromised-account scenarios important.
Researcher notes
The provided sources do not name exact fixed versions or exploit activity. Validate against the GitHub advisory and CVE records, and avoid assuming affected scope beyond Mautic and mautic/core.
Mitigation direction
- Follow the Mautic advisory and upgrade to the vendor-patched release.
- Restrict Mautic login access to trusted users and networks where feasible.
- Disable or remove unnecessary Mautic user accounts.
- Review backups and recovery procedures for critical Mautic and system files.
- Monitor for unexpected file deletion, missing libraries, or application integrity errors.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Mautic installations and record installed Mautic/core versions.
- Compare deployed versions against the CVE record and Mautic advisory.
- Confirm whether GrapesJS builder functionality is present or enabled.
- Review user accounts for unnecessary or stale authenticated access.
- Check application and system logs for unusual deletion or file-missing errors.
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-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. 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-2021-27916 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
- High
- CVSS
- 8.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
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:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H2.85.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/mautic/mautic/security/advisories/GHSA-9fcx-cv56-w58pCVE reference
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.
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.