CVE-2021-43835

Privilege escalation in the Sulu Admin panel

Workarounds

Patching the ProfileController of affected sulu versions yourself by overwriting it.

References

Are there any links users can visit to find out more?

Currently not.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

• Open an issue in sulu/sulu repo
• Email us at [email protected]

Impacted are only users which already have access to the admin UI. Over the API it was possible for them to give themselves permissions to areas which they did not already had. This issue was introduced in 2.0.0-RC1 with the new ProfileController putAction.

The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access. Typical impact: privilege escalation beyond the intended level.

CVE-2021-43835 has a CVSS score of 7.2 (High). The vector is network-reachable, high privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.2.18, 2.3.8, 2.4.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

The versions have been patched in 2.2.18, 2.3.8 and 2.4.0.

1. What is CVE-2021-43835? CVE-2021-43835 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in sulu/sulu (composer), affecting versions >= 2.0.0, <= 2.2.17. It is fixed in 2.2.18, 2.3.8, 2.4.0. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.
2. How severe is CVE-2021-43835? CVE-2021-43835 has a CVSS score of 7.2 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of sulu/sulu are affected by CVE-2021-43835? sulu/sulu (composer) versions >= 2.0.0, <= 2.2.17 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2021-43835? Yes. CVE-2021-43835 is fixed in 2.2.18, 2.3.8, 2.4.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2021-43835 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2021-43835 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2021-43835 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2021-43835?
   • Upgrade sulu/sulu to 2.2.18 or later
   • Upgrade sulu/sulu to 2.3.8 or later
   • Upgrade sulu/sulu to 2.4.0 or later

Other vulnerabilities in sulu/sulu