CVE-2021-41269
Unauthenticated remote code injection in cron-utils
CVE-2021-41269 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 10.0) in Cron-utils Project Cron-utils, published November 15, 2021. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 4.35%, the 91st percentile. Fixed in com.cronutils:cron-utils 9.1.6.
cron-utils is a Java library to define, parse, validate, migrate crons as well as get human readable descriptions for them. In affected versions A template Injection was identified in cron-utils enabling attackers to inject arbitrary Java EL expressions, leading to unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability. Versions up to 9.1.2 are susceptible to this vulnerability. Please note, that only projects using the @Cron annotation to validate untrusted Cron expressions are affected. The issue was patched and a new version was released. Please upgrade to version 9.1.6. There are no known workarounds known.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Unauthenticated remote code injection in cron-utils
cron-utils is a Java library to define, parse, validate, migrate crons as well as get human readable descriptions for them. In affected versions A template Injection was identified in cron-utils enabling attackers to inject arbitrary Java EL expressions, leading to unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability. Versions up to 9.1.2 are susceptible to this vulnerability. Please note, that only projects using the @Cron annotation to validate untrusted Cron expressions are affected. The issue was patched and a new version was released. Please upgrade to version 9.1.6. There are no known workarounds known.
- Record
CVE-2021-41269- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-2371
cron-utils is a Java library to define, parse, validate, migrate crons as well as get human readable descriptions for them. In affected versions A template Injection was identified in cron-utils enabling attackers to inject arbitrary Java EL expressions, leading to unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability. Versions up to 9.1.2 are susceptible to this vulnerability. Please note, that only projects using the @Cron annotation to validate untrusted Cron expressions are affected. The issue was patched and a new version was released. Please upgrade to version 9.1.6. There are no known workarounds known.
- Record
EUVD-2021-2371- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-p9m8-27x8-rg87
Critical vulnerability found in cron-utils
Impact
A Template Injection was identified in cron-utils enabling attackers to inject arbitrary Java EL expressions, leading to unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability. Versions up to 9.1.2 are susceptible to this vulnerability. Please note, that only projects using the @Cron annotation to validate untrusted Cron expressions are affected.
Patches
The issue was patched and a new version was released. Please upgrade to version 9.1.6.
Workarounds
There are no known workarounds up to this moment.
References
A description of the issue is provided in issue 461
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
Open an issue in the cron-utils Github repository
- Record
GHSA-p9m8-27x8-rg87- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
cron-utils is a Java library to define, parse, validate, migrate crons as well as get human readable descriptions for them. In affected versions A template Injection was identified in cron-utils enabling attackers to inject arbitrary Java EL expressions, leading to unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability. Versions up to 9.1.2 are susceptible to this vulnerability. Please note, that only projects using the @Cron annotation to validate untrusted Cron expressions are affected. The issue was patched and a new version was released. Please upgrade to version 9.1.6. There are no known workarounds known.
- Record
CVE-2021-41269- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.8 Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
cron-utils is a Java library to define, parse, validate, migrate crons as well as get human readable descriptions for them. In affected versions A template Injection was identified in cron-utils enabling attackers to inject arbitrary Java EL expressions, leading to unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability. Versions up to 9.1.2 are susceptible to this vulnerability. Please note, that only projects using the @Cron annotation to validate untrusted Cron expressions are affected. The issue was patched and a new version was released. Please upgrade to version 9.1.6. There are no known workarounds known.
- Record
CVE-2021-41269- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-p9m8-27x8-rg87
Critical vulnerability found in cron-utils
Impact
A Template Injection was identified in cron-utils enabling attackers to inject arbitrary Java EL expressions, leading to unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability. Versions up to 9.1.2 are susceptible to this vulnerability. Please note, that only projects using the @Cron annotation to validate untrusted Cron expressions are affected.
Patches
The issue was patched and a new version was released. Please upgrade to version 9.1.6.
Workarounds
There are no known workarounds up to this moment.
References
A description of the issue is provided in issue 461
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
Open an issue in the cron-utils Github repository
- Record
GHSA-p9m8-27x8-rg87- CVSS 3.1
- 10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
com.cronutils:cron-utilsMaven |
before 9.1.6 | 9.1.6 |
com.cronutils:cron-utilsMaven |
before 9.1.6, plus listed versions 1.0.01.1.01.1.11.1.22.0.0 Show 45 moreShow less3.0.03.1.03.1.13.1.23.1.43.1.53.1.63.1.74.0.04.0.14.1.04.1.14.1.24.1.35.0.05.0.15.0.25.0.35.0.45.0.56.0.06.0.16.0.26.0.36.0.46.0.56.0.67.0.07.0.17.0.27.0.37.0.47.0.57.0.67.0.78.0.08.1.19.0.09.0.19.0.29.1.09.1.19.1.29.1.39.1.5 |
9.1.6 |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| PoC in GitHub | shoucheng3/jmrozanec__cron-utils_CVE-2021-41269_9-1-5 | 2025-08-20 |
History
| When | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-03 | aliases | EUVD |
| 2026-11-02 | created | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub |
References
github.com/jmrozanec/cron-utils/issues/461
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41269