Vulnerability · Published Sep 23, 2021 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2021-41088Remote code execution via the web UI backend of Elvish
High 8.0
In plain English
A high-severity security flaw in elvish from elves. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.5% (higher than 45% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
Elvish is a programming language and interactive shell, combined into one package. In versions prior to 0.14.0 Elvish's web UI backend (started by `elvish -web`) hosts an endpoint that allows executing the code sent from the web UI. The backend does not check the origin of requests correctly. As a result, if the user has the web UI backend open and visits a compromised or malicious website, the website can send arbitrary code to the endpoint in localhost. All Elvish releases from 0.14.0 onward no longer include the the web UI, although it is still possible for the user to build a version from source that includes the web UI. The issue can be patched for previous versions by removing the web UI (found in web, pkg/web or pkg/prog/web, depending on the exact version).
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | elvish | 0.14.0-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2021-41088 |
| Debian:13 | elvish | 0.14.0-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2021-41088 |
| Debian:14 | elvish | 0.14.0-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2021-41088 |
| Go | github.com/elves/elvish | 0.14.0 | GO-2022-0937 |
| Go | github.com/elves/elvish | 0.14.0 | GHSA-fpv6-f8jw-rc3r |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | elvish | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2021-41088 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | elvish | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2021-41088 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | elvish | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2021-41088 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | elvish | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2021-41088 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | elvish | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2021-41088 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-668 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H