How severe is CVE-2021-41165?

CVE-2021-41165 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.2, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity low, and availability low.

Is CVE-2021-41165 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (71st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2021-41165?

CVE-2021-41165 primarily affects Ckeditor. In total, 19 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2021-41165?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2021-41165 published?

CVE-2021-41165 was published on 2021-11-17 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2021-41165

CVE-2021-41165 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ckeditor with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.2. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-79.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.2)
CVSS v2: 3.5
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (71st percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-79
Affected product: Ckeditor
Published: 2021-11-17
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

CKEditor4 is an open source WYSIWYG HTML editor. In affected version a vulnerability has been discovered in the core HTML processing module and may affect all plugins used by CKEditor 4. The vulnerability allowed to inject malformed comments HTML bypassing content sanitization, which could result in executing JavaScript code. It affects all users using the CKEditor 4 at version < 4.17.0. The problem has been recognized and patched. The fix will be available in version 4.17.0.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-41165?: CKEditor4 is an open source WYSIWYG HTML editor. In affected version a vulnerability has been discovered in the core HTML processing module and may affect all plugins used by CKEditor 4. The vulnerability allowed to inject malformed comments HTML bypassing content sanitization, which could result in executing JavaScript code. It affects all users using the CKEditor 4 at version < 4.17.0. The problem has been recognized and patched. The fix will be available in version 4.17.0.
How severe is CVE-2021-41165?: CVE-2021-41165 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.2, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity low, and availability low.
Is CVE-2021-41165 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (71st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2021-41165?: CVE-2021-41165 primarily affects Ckeditor. In total, 19 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2021-41165?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2021-41165 published?: CVE-2021-41165 was published on 2021-11-17 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (19)

cpe:2.3:a:ckeditor:ckeditor:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:drupal:drupal:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:agile_product_lifecycle_management:9.3.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:application_express:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_apis:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_apis:19.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_apis:19.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_apis:20.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_apis:21.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:19.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:19.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:20.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:21.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:commerce_guided_search:11.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools:8.58:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools:8.59:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:webcenter_portal:12.2.1.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:webcenter_portal:12.2.1.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Ckeditor

CVE-2023-31541 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): A unrestricted file upload vulnerability was discovered in the ‘Browse and upload images’ feature of the CKEditor…
CVE-2021-41164 — High (CVSS 8.2): CKEditor4 is an open source WYSIWYG HTML editor. In affected versions a vulnerability has been discovered in the…
CVE-2021-32808 — High (CVSS 7.6): ckeditor is an open source WYSIWYG HTML editor with rich content support. A vulnerability has been discovered in the…
CVE-2011-4972 — High (CVSS 7.5): hook_file_download in the CKEditor module 7.x-1.4 for Drupal does not properly restrict access to private files, which…
CVE-2021-37695 — High (CVSS 7.3): ckeditor is an open source WYSIWYG HTML editor with rich content support. A potential vulnerability has been discovered…
CVE-2012-2067 — Medium (CVSS 6.8): Unspecified vulnerability in the CKeditor module 6.x-2.x before 6.x-2.3 and the CKEditor module 6.x-1.x before 6.x-1.9…

All CVEs affecting Ckeditor →

Other CWE-79 (Cross-site Scripting (XSS)) vulnerabilities

CVE-2025-49410 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Imran Emu TC…
CVE-2024-47875 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): DOMPurify is a DOM-only, super-fast, uber-tolerant XSS sanitizer for HTML, MathML and SVG. DOMpurify was vulnerable to…
CVE-2024-6886 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (XSS or 'Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Gitea…
CVE-2023-45144 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): com.xwiki.identity-oauth:identity-oauth-ui is a package to aid in building identity and service providers based on…
CVE-2023-45138 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Change Request is an pplication allowing users to request changes on a wiki without publishing the changes directly.…
CVE-2022-4361 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Keycloak, an open-source identity and access management solution, has a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the…

Browse all CWE-79 (Cross-site Scripting (XSS)) vulnerabilities →