What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-37938?

CVE-2021-37938 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.3 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.7%.

Kibana CVE-2021-37938

MEDIUM

Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)

2021-11-18 security@elastic.co

Privilege Escalation Microsoft Elastic Kibana

4.3

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-269 OWASP Top 10:2025 A06:2025 - Insecure Design ASVS 5.0 V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement MITRE ATT&CK 1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Impact	CVSS score of 4.3 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A remote attacker could escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access by sending crafted requests to the affected application.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).

No patch listed yet 0.7% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

It was discovered that on Windows operating systems specifically, Kibana was not validating a user supplied path, which would load .pbf files. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply principle of least privilege, validate privilege transitions, implement proper role separation.

Affects your stack

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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269), which allows attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access. It was discovered that on Windows operating systems specifically, Kibana was not validating a user supplied path, which would load .pbf files. Because of this, a malicious user could arbitrarily traverse the Kibana host to load internal files ending in the .pbf extension. Thanks to Dominic Couture for finding this vulnerability. Affected products include: Elastic Kibana.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 4.3 MEDIUM

AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

None

DescriptionNVD

It was discovered that on Windows operating systems specifically, Kibana was not validating a user supplied path, which would load .pbf files. Because of this, a malicious user could arbitrarily traverse the Kibana host to load internal files ending in the .pbf extension. Thanks to Dominic Couture for finding this vulnerability.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.7%

Top 51% exploitable

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity MEDIUM

CISA KEV No

Public POC No

EPSS 0.7%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

None

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +1

CVSS: +22

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege Escalation HIGH

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.