Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
ArcGIS Server 10.9 has a help documentation flaw that can let a remote unauthenticated attacker inject attacker-supplied HTML into a page. The practical concern is content tampering or user deception, not server takeover based on the provided sources. User interaction is required, and the CVSS score is medium.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority remediation for any ArcGIS Server 10.9 environment. It is not evidenced as actively exploited, but public-facing systems should be patched because the flaw is unauthenticated and can undermine trust in server-hosted content.
Technical view
CVE-2021-29113 is reported as CWE-98 remote file inclusion in ArcGIS Server help documentation. The CVSS v3.0 vector is AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N, indicating network reachability, no privileges, required user interaction, changed scope, low integrity impact, and no confidentiality or availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited by the provided evidence to Esri ArcGIS Server version 10.9. Risk is higher where ArcGIS Server help documentation is reachable by untrusted users, especially from the internet.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or any cited evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability is remotely reachable and unauthenticated, but requires user interaction and is described as HTML injection through help documentation.
Researcher notes
Public details are limited in the provided bundle. Do not assume broader ArcGIS versions are affected without vendor confirmation. Validation should focus on version, patch state, and reachability of the help documentation surface, avoiding exploit reproduction unless authorized and guided by vendor-safe testing.
Mitigation direction
- Apply Esri's ArcGIS Server Security 2021 Update 2 Patch where applicable.
- Confirm patch applicability against ArcGIS Server 10.9 systems.
- Review Esri guidance before changing unsupported versions or deployment configurations.
- Limit untrusted access to ArcGIS Server help documentation where operationally feasible.
Validation and detection
- Inventory ArcGIS Server instances and identify any running version 10.9.
- Verify whether Esri's 2021 Update 2 security patch is installed.
- Check whether help documentation is exposed to untrusted networks.
- Review web logs for unusual help documentation access patterns.
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-98: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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 lookupCVE-2021-29113 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
- 4.7 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/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:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N2.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
4.7MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-enterprise/administration/arcgis-server-security-2021-update-2-patch-is-now-availableCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
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 Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.