Cyber Resilience

CVE-2021-33256

Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus 6.1

Public PoCHigh EPSS
Published
09 August 2021
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.79 99.6th percentile
Risk Priority 87 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2021-33256 is a high-severity Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File (CWE-1236) vulnerability in Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A CSV injection vulnerability on the login panel of ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus Version: 6.1 Build No: 6101 can be exploited by an unauthenticated user. The j_username parameter seems to be vulnerable and a reverse shell could be obtained if a…

more

privileged user exports "User Attempts Audit Report" as CSV file. Note: The vendor disputes this vulnerability, claiming "This is not a valid vulnerability in our ADSSP product. We don't see this as a security issue at our side.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Executionconfidence: MEDIUM
CSV injection via j_username can lead to command execution when a privileged user exports the audit report as CSV.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-35854Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus
CVE-2025-1723Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus
CVE-2023-28342Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus
CVE-2022-28810Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus
CVE-2024-0252Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus
CVE-2021-28958Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus
CVE-2024-27310Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus
CVE-2025-3833Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus
CVE-2023-35719Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus
CVE-2025-11250Same product: Zohocorp Manageengine Adselfservice Plus

Affected Assets

zohocorp
manageengine adselfservice plus
6.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.10

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require output neutralization for untrusted CSV content to block formula injection.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing in development can detect formula injection but does not itself implement the mitigation.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and output encoding that directly prevents formula injection in CSV exports.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe CSV generation and handling of untrusted data.

prevents

Secure architecture principles encourage safe data export design but do not specifically address CSV formula neutralization.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly require neutralization of special characters when writing CSV files.

References