Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-29827

Ejs ≥ 3.1.9

Public PoC
Published
04 May 2023
Modified
03 December 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.056 92th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-29827 is a critical-severity Injection (CWE-74) vulnerability in Ejs Ejs. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 8% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

ejs version 3.1.9 contains a server-side template injection flaw tracked as CVE-2023-29827 and assigned CWE-74. The issue arises when an attacker can control the EJS template file and supply a malicious closeDelimiter setting, allowing arbitrary template directives to be processed during rendering. The vulnerability received a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8.

An unauthenticated remote attacker who can influence the template source can leverage the flaw to execute arbitrary code or access sensitive data on the server. Exploitation requires that the application passes attacker-controlled content to the EJS render function, which the vendor states is outside the intended use of the library.

Vendor documentation in the referenced GitHub SECURITY.md file and issue 720 explicitly classifies this class of input as out of scope, noting that the render API is not designed to accept untrusted templates and that applications must sanitize or restrict template sources themselves.

EPSS for the CVE rose from lower values to a peak of 0.8540 on 2026-02-03 before receding to the current score of 0.6627, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

ejs v3.1.9 is vulnerable to server-side template injection. If the ejs file is controllable, template injection can be implemented through the configuration settings of the closeDelimiter parameter. NOTE: this is disputed by the vendor because the render function is not…

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intended to be used with untrusted input.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1221 Template Injection Stealth
Adversaries may create or modify references in user document templates to conceal malicious code or force authentication attempts.
T1659 Content Injection Initial Access
Adversaries may gain access and continuously communicate with victims by injecting malicious content into systems through online network traffic.
T1674 Input Injection Execution
Adversaries may simulate keystrokes on a victim’s computer by various means to perform any type of action on behalf of the user, such as launching the command interpreter using keyboard shortcuts, typing an inline script to be executed,…
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-27040Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-49964Shared CWE-74
CVE-2026-6279Shared CWE-74
CVE-2025-27794Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-48205Shared CWE-74
CVE-2025-40710Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-43655Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-29526Shared CWE-74
CVE-2023-7039Shared CWE-74
CVE-2026-0972Shared CWE-74

Affected Assets

ejs
ejs
≥ 3.1.9

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)
  • V1.2.1
  • V1.2.3
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-74

Developer assessments and testing (including injection-focused techniques) identify improper neutralization of special elements, and the verifiable flaw remediation corrects them pre-deployment.

addresses: CWE-74

Identifies indicators of injection attacks (command, SQL, LDAP, etc.) via anomaly and attack monitoring.

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 input validation and output encoding that prevent injection flaws.

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches injection vulnerabilities before release.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging supports detection of injection attempts but does not prevent the weakness.

finds

Monitoring activities can identify active injection attacks after they occur.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and output encoding that directly prevent injection flaws.

prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection attacks in software design.

prevents

Secure architecture principles reduce injection surfaces but do not prescribe specific neutralization techniques.

References