Skip to main content

Composer CVE-2021-41116

CRITICAL
Command Injection (CWE-77)
2021-10-05 security-advisories@github.com
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Command injection prevention
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could inject arbitrary commands into system command execution by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
Patch available 2.9% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAI

Composer is an open source dependency manager for the PHP language. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Command Injection vulnerability could allow attackers to inject arbitrary commands into system command execution.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Use parameterized APIs, avoid shell execution, validate input with strict allowlists.

Affected Packages

composer composer/composer fix: 1.10.23, 2.1.9

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in composer

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 Command Injection (CWE-77), which allows attackers to inject arbitrary commands into system command execution. Composer is an open source dependency manager for the PHP language. In affected versions windows users running Composer to install untrusted dependencies are subject to command injection and should upgrade their composer version. Other OSs and WSL are not affected. The issue has been resolved in composer versions 1.10.23 and 2.1.9. There are no workarounds for this issue. Affected products include: Getcomposer Composer, Tenable Tenable.Sc.

Know when Composer gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

Composer is an open source dependency manager for the PHP language. In affected versions windows users running Composer to install untrusted dependencies are subject to command injection and should upgrade their composer version. Other OSs and WSL are not affected. The issue has been resolved in composer versions 1.10.23 and 2.1.9. There are no workarounds for this issue.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
2.9%
Top 15% exploitable
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

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 CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 2.9%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
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
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

52
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +3
CVSS: +49
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:getcomposer:composer:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:getcomposer:composer:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:tenable:tenable.sc:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2021-29472 HIGH POC
8.8 Apr 27

Composer is a dependency manager for PHP. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, lo

CVE-2026-84361 HIGH POC
7.7 Sep 01

Command injection in PHP Composer's Perforce VCS handler allows arbitrary local command execution with the privileges of

CVE-2023-1596 MEDIUM POC
6.1 May 15

The tagDiv Composer WordPress plugin before 4.0 does not sanitise and escape a parameter before outputting it back in th

CVE-2023-43655 HIGH
8.8 Sep 29

Composer is a dependency manager for PHP. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, lo

CVE-2022-24828 HIGH
8.8 Apr 13

Composer is a dependency manager for the PHP programming language. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is

CVE-2026-10043 HIGH
7.8 Jun 24

Arbitrary code execution in MosaicML Composer arises when the library loads a model or resumption checkpoint, because ch

CVE-2026-59948 HIGH POC
7.0 Jul 08

Arbitrary file write in Composer (the PHP dependency manager) before 2.2.29 and 2.10.2 allows a malicious package served

CVE-2025-3510 MEDIUM
6.4 May 02

The tagDiv Composer plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via multiple shortcodes in all ver

CVE-2026-59946 MEDIUM
6.1 Jul 08

Path traversal in Composer's binary installation flow allows a malicious PHP package to cause arbitrary host files to be

CVE-2026-11914 MEDIUM
5.9 Jul 10

Improper input validation in the Drupal Composer contributed module (SA-contrib-2026-046) exposes sites to confidentiali

CVE-2026-109153 MEDIUM
5.3 Oct 13

Path traversal in MosaicML Composer 0.32.1 and earlier allows an attacker who supplies a crafted checkpoint archive to w

CVE-2026-59947 MEDIUM
4.7 Jul 08

Credential leakage in Composer PHP dependency manager exposes sensitive tokens - such as GitHub Personal Access Tokens e

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy