CVE-2021-28398
A privileged attacker in GeoNetwork before 3.12.0 and 4.x before 4.0.4 can use the directory harvester before-script to execute arbitrary OS commands remotely on the hosting infrastructure. A User Administrator or Administrator account is required to perform this. This occurs in the runBeforeScript method in harvesters/src/main/java/org/fao/geonet/kernel/harvest/harvester/localfilesystem/LocalFilesystemHarvester.java. The earliest affected version is 3.4.0.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
A privileged attacker in GeoNetwork before 3.12.0 and 4.x before 4.0.4 can use the directory harvester before-script to execute arbitrary OS commands remotely on the hosting infrastructure. A User Administrator or Administrator account is required to perform this. This occurs in the runBeforeScript method in harvesters/src/main/java/org/fao/geonet/kernel/harvest/harvester/localfilesystem/LocalFilesystemHarvester.java. The earliest affected version is 3.4.0.
- Record
CVE-2021-28398- CVSS 3.1
- 7.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
A privileged attacker in GeoNetwork before 3.12.0 and 4.x before 4.0.4 can use the directory harvester before-script to execute arbitrary OS commands remotely on the hosting infrastructure. A User Administrator or Administrator account is required to perform this. This occurs in the runBeforeScript method in harvesters/src/main/java/org/fao/geonet/kernel/harvest/harvester/localfilesystem/LocalFilesystemHarvester.java. The earliest affected version is 3.4.0.
- Record
CVE-2021-28398- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-15078 No score
A privileged attacker in GeoNetwork before 3.12.0 and 4.x before 4.0.4 can use the directory harvester before-script to execute arbitrary OS commands remotely on the hosting infrastructure. A User Administrator or Administrator account is required to perform this. This occurs in the runBeforeScript method in harvesters/src/main/java/org/fao/geonet/kernel/harvest/harvester/localfilesystem/LocalFilesystemHarvester.java. The earliest affected version is 3.4.0.
- Record
EUVD-2021-15078- Updated
- 2026-11-03
OSV
A privileged attacker in GeoNetwork before 3.12.0 and 4.x before 4.0.4 can use the directory harvester before-script to execute arbitrary OS commands remotely on the hosting infrastructure. A User Administrator or Administrator account is required to perform this. This occurs in the runBeforeScript method in harvesters/src/main/java/org/fao/geonet/kernel/harvest/harvester/localfilesystem/LocalFilesystemHarvester.java. The earliest affected version is 3.4.0.
- Record
CVE-2021-28398- CVSS 3.1
- 7.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-28398 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.2) in Osgeo Geonetwork, published September 5, 2022. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.46%, the 73rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.