Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-45811 is an authenticated SQL injection issue in osTicket 1.15.x ticket search. If exposed, a logged-in attacker could run unintended database commands through ticket search parameters, potentially affecting sensitive helpdesk data. Public sources do not provide a CVSS score, fixed version, or confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Prioritize review if osTicket stores customer, employee, or incident data. The business risk is unauthorized database access from a logged-in account, but urgency depends on confirmed version exposure and available vendor remediation.
Technical view
The CVE describes SQL injection in the Search functionality of tickets.php in osTicket 1.15.x. The issue involves the keywords and topic_id URL parameter combination and may allow authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands. The source bundle does not include CWE mapping, CVSS metrics, affected CPEs, or remediation details.
Likely exposure
Organizations running osTicket 1.15.x with authenticated user access to tickets.php search are the likely exposure group. The bundle does not confirm other osTicket branches, hosted offerings, plugins, or downstream packages as affected.
Exploitation context
The CVE requires authentication according to the description. CISA KEV status is false in the bundle, and no cited source confirms active exploitation. Public evidence is limited, so treat exploitation status as unconfirmed rather than absent.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse. The bundle provides the CVE description and a BackBox reference, but no CVSS, CWE, fixed release, exploit maturity, or affected CPE data. Avoid expanding scope beyond osTicket 1.15.x unless vendor evidence confirms it.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory osTicket deployments and identify any 1.15.x instances.
- Check osTicket vendor or project guidance for fixed versions or advisories.
- Restrict helpdesk access to trusted authenticated users where possible.
- Apply least-privilege database permissions for the osTicket application account.
- Monitor application and database logs for abnormal ticket search activity.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether tickets.php search is reachable by authenticated users.
- Verify installed osTicket versions against the 1.15.x affected range.
- Review web logs for unusual keywords and topic_id search parameter combinations.
- Review database logs for unexpected queries from the osTicket application user.
- Document compensating controls if immediate upgrade guidance is unavailable.
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.
Database behavior lookup
The CVE wording references database injection or access, so collection and exfiltration review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-45811 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
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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.
SSVC decision data
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://members.backbox.org/osticket-sql-injection/CVE reference, mitre
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.