Summary
Cross site scripting in opencart
This affects versions of the package opencart/opencart from 4.0.0.0. A reflected XSS issue was identified in the directory parameter of admin common/filemanager.list route. An attacker could obtain a user's token by tricking the user to click on a maliciously crafted URL. The user is then prompted to login and redirected again upon authentication with the payload automatically executing. If the attacked user has admin privileges, this vulnerability could be used as the start of a chain of exploits like Zip Slip or arbitrary file write vulnerabilities in the admin functionality.
Notes:
This is only exploitable if the attacker knows the name or path of the admin directory. The name of the directory is "admin" by default but there is a pop-up in the dashboard warning users to rename it.
The fix for this vulnerability is incomplete. The redirect is removed so that it is not possible for an attacker to control the redirect post admin login anymore, but it is still possible to exploit this issue in admin if the user is authenticated as an admin already.
Impact
Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session. Typical impact: session or credential theft, and actions taken as the user.
CVE-2024-21516 has a CVSS score of 4.2 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and user interaction required. 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. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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In the interim: Validate and encode untrusted input before rendering it as HTML. Applying a Content Security Policy reduces the impact if encoding is bypassed.
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-21516? CVE-2024-21516 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in opencart/opencart (composer), affecting versions >= 4.0.0.0. No fixed version is listed yet. Untrusted input is rendered as active markup in a victim's browser, which can run script in their session.
- How severe is CVE-2024-21516? CVE-2024-21516 has a CVSS score of 4.2 (Medium). 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.
- Which versions of opencart/opencart are affected by CVE-2024-21516? opencart/opencart (composer) versions >= 4.0.0.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-21516? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2024-21516 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2024-21516 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-21516 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2024-21516 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2024-21516? No fixed version is listed yet. In the interim: Validate and encode untrusted input before rendering it as HTML. Applying a Content Security Policy reduces the impact if encoding is bypassed.