Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-4247 is a remotely reachable denial-of-service issue in OWASP NodeGoat’s research.js query parameter handling. The known impact is limited availability degradation, not data theft or data modification. The public record identifies a patch commit but does not provide affected version ranges.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation where NodeGoat is internet-accessible or used by shared training populations. Business urgency is moderate because the known impact is availability-only and active exploitation is not evidenced, but public exposure of training apps is rarely necessary.
Technical view
The issue affects OWASP NodeGoat in app/routes/research.js, specifically the query parameter handler. The CVSS v3.1 score is 4.3 with AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L, mapped to CWE-404. The named remediation is patch commit 4a4d1db74c63fb4ff8d366551c3af006c25ead12.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to organizations running OWASP NodeGoat, commonly as a training or demonstration application. Risk is higher if NodeGoat is reachable by untrusted users. The source bundle does not identify affected versions, packaged releases, or downstream forks.
Exploitation context
The vulnerability can be initiated remotely, but the CVSS vector requires low privileges. The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing, active exploitation, public exploitation evidence, or a working exploit. Treat this as a denial-of-service exposure, not a confirmed compromise path.
Researcher notes
Key uncertainty is version scope: the public bundle lists versions as n/a. Validate by code state rather than version labels. The strongest source-grounded check is whether the referenced commit is present in the deployed NodeGoat codebase.
Mitigation direction
- Apply OWASP NodeGoat patch commit 4a4d1db74c63fb4ff8d366551c3af006c25ead12.
- Check OWASP NodeGoat guidance for any release-specific remediation.
- Restrict NodeGoat access to trusted training or lab networks.
- Avoid exposing NodeGoat directly to the public internet.
- Monitor application errors and availability after remediation.
Validation and detection
- Inventory any OWASP NodeGoat deployments, forks, and training environments.
- Confirm app/routes/research.js includes the referenced patch changes.
- Verify NodeGoat is not publicly reachable unless intentionally required.
- Review access controls for users who can reach the application.
- Check availability logs for unusual repeated failures around research routes.
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-404: 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-2021-4247 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
- 4.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
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:N/A:L2.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/OWASP/NodeGoat/issues/225CVE reference
- https://github.com/OWASP/NodeGoat/commit/4a4d1db74c63fb4ff8d366551c3af006c25ead12CVE reference
- https://vuldb.com/?id.216184CVE 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 Resource Shutdown or Release
Improper Resource Shutdown or Release represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.