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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2021-41242

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2021-12-10
  • Fixed in16.0.5 · 15.5.12
  • WeaknessCWE-22 · CWE-23

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

OpenOlat is a web-basedlearning management system. A path traversal vulnerability exists in OpenOlat prior to versions 15.5.12 and 16.0.5. By providing a filename that contains a relative path as a parameter in some REST methods, it is possible to create directory structures and write files anywhere on the target system. The attack could be used to write files anywhere in the web root folder or outside, depending on the configuration of the system and the properly configured permission of the application server user. The attack requires an OpenOlat user account, an enabled REST API and the rights on a business object to call the vulnerable REST calls. The problem is fixed in version 15.5.12 and 16.0.5. There is a workaround available. The vulnerability requires the REST module to be enabled. Disabling the REST module or limiting the REST module via some firewall or web-server access rules to be accessed only be trusted systems will mitigate the risk.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2021-12-1023:15CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-41242?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-41242?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Frentix openolat
BranchAffectedFixed in
16.0≥ 16.0.0, < 16.0.516.0.5
15.5< 15.5.1215.5.12

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

  1. Update Frentix openolat to 16.0.5 · 15.5.12

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
none listed
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

  • CNACVSS 3.18.1read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.18.1read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.07.9read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-23read 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-22read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score1.5 %2026-10-23

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Published
2021-12-10
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-41242?

OpenOlat is a web-basedlearning management system. A path traversal vulnerability exists in OpenOlat prior to versions 15.5.12 and 16.0.5. By providing a filename that contains a relative path as a parameter in some REST methods, it is possible to create directory structures and write files anywhere on the target system. The attack could be used to write files anywhere in the web root folder or outside, depending on the configuration of the system and the properly configured permission of the application server user. The attack requires an OpenOlat user account, an enabled REST API and the rights on a business object to call the vulnerable REST calls. The problem is fixed in version 15.5.12 and 16.0.5. There is a workaround available. The vulnerability requires the REST module to be enabled. Disabling the REST module or limiting the REST module via some firewall or web-server access rules to be accessed only be trusted systems will mitigate the risk.

Is CVE-2021-41242 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2021-41242 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 1.5% on 2026-10-23, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-41242?

CVE-2021-41242 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.1 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H.

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