CVE-2021-25979
Apostrophe - Insufficient Session Expiration
Apostrophe CMS versions prior to 3.3.1 did not invalidate existing login sessions when disabling a user account or changing the password, creating a situation in which a device compromised by a third party could not be locked out by those means. As a mitigation for older releases the user account in question can be archived (3.x) or moved to the trash (2.x and earlier) which does disable the existing session.
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
Apostrophe - Insufficient Session Expiration
Apostrophe CMS versions prior to 3.3.1 did not invalidate existing login sessions when disabling a user account or changing the password, creating a situation in which a device compromised by a third party could not be locked out by those means. As a mitigation for older releases the user account in question can be archived (3.x) or moved to the trash (2.x and earlier) which does disable the existing session.
- Record
CVE-2021-25979- 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 - Weakness
- CWE-613
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-2330
Apostrophe CMS versions prior to 3.3.1 did not invalidate existing login sessions when disabling a user account or changing the password, creating a situation in which a device compromised by a third party could not be locked out by those means. As a mitigation for older releases the user account in question can be archived (3.x) or moved to the trash (2.x and earlier) which does disable the existing session.
- Record
EUVD-2021-2330- 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
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-9j9m-8wjc-ff96
Apostrophe CMS Insufficient Session Expiration vulnerability
Apostrophe CMS versions between 2.63.0 to 3.3.1 affected by an insufficient session expiration vulnerability, which allows unauthenticated remote attackers to hijack recently logged-in users' sessions. As a mitigation for older releases the user account in question can be archived (3.x) or moved to the trash (2.x and earlier) which does disable the existing session.
- Record
GHSA-9j9m-8wjc-ff96- 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 - Weakness
- CWE-613
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
Apostrophe CMS versions prior to 3.3.1 did not invalidate existing login sessions when disabling a user account or changing the password, creating a situation in which a device compromised by a third party could not be locked out by those means. As a mitigation for older releases the user account in question can be archived (3.x) or moved to the trash (2.x and earlier) which does disable the existing session.
- Record
CVE-2021-25979- 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
- 7.5 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-613
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Apostrophe CMS versions prior to 3.3.1 did not invalidate existing login sessions when disabling a user account or changing the password, creating a situation in which a device compromised by a third party could not be locked out by those means. As a mitigation for older releases the user account in question can be archived (3.x) or moved to the trash (2.x and earlier) which does disable the existing session.
- Record
CVE-2021-25979- 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-9j9m-8wjc-ff96
Apostrophe CMS Insufficient Session Expiration vulnerability
Apostrophe CMS versions between 2.63.0 to 3.3.1 affected by an insufficient session expiration vulnerability, which allows unauthenticated remote attackers to hijack recently logged-in users' sessions. As a mitigation for older releases the user account in question can be archived (3.x) or moved to the trash (2.x and earlier) which does disable the existing session.
- Record
GHSA-9j9m-8wjc-ff96- 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 - Weakness
- CWE-613
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
apostrophenpm |
2.63.0 up to 3.4.0 | 3.4.0 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-25979 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Apostrophe, published November 8, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.14%, the 66th percentile. Fixed in apostrophe 3.4.0.