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Vulnerability record · public intelligence
CVE-2021-38295
UNKNOWN

Privilege escalation vulnerability when using HTML attachments

Published Oct 14, 2021 · Updated Nov 3, 2026

Severity · CVSSUNKNOWN · Not scored
Known exploitationNot listed
EPSS / likelihood2.75%
QFinch risk scoreNot available

Original summary

Normalized public record · Updated Nov 3, 2026

Privilege escalation vulnerability when using HTML attachments

Publisher and source text is retained separately from QFinch interpretation.

QFinch assessment

In Apache CouchDB, a malicious user with permission to create documents in a database is able to attach a HTML attachment to a document. If a CouchDB admin opens that attachment in a browser, e.g. via the CouchDB admin interface Fauxton, any JavaScript code embedded in that HTML attachment will be executed within the security context of that admin. A similar route is available with the already deprecated _show and _list functionality. This privilege escalation vulnerability allows an attacker to add or remove data in any database or make configuration changes. This issue affected Apache CouchDB prior to 3.1.2

Evidence: public source records

Affected products

Affected scope reported by the available public evidence
Affected package, product or rangeFix status
Consult the referenced vendor advisory for affected versions.Consult source advisory

Matching a version is only one part of assessing exposure. QFinch has not assessed your environment on this public page.

Remediation

Apply the vendor-supported fixed release or mitigation, then verify the affected component is no longer reachable.

  1. Confirm the affected product and reachable code path exist in your environment.
  2. Apply the vendor-supported patch or mitigation from the primary advisory.
  3. Rescan the exact deployed revision and retain verification evidence.
Review primary references

Evidence coverage

FIRST-EPSSCVE-LIST-V5
SSVC priority
MEDIUM
Confidence
Not available
Aliases
None reported

Scores appear only when corresponding evidence exists. Missing data is never interpreted as zero risk.

Sources and record history

  1. docs.couchdb.org ↗

Record history

Published Oct 14, 2021 · Last refreshed Nov 3, 2026