CVE-2021-28170Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Input-sanitization bypass via escaped delimiter tokenization

Published May 26, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Improper input validation in Eclipse Expressly 3.0.3 and earlier allows remote attackers to bypass EL-expression sanitization. The ELParserTokenManager consumes a backslash after a literal dollar sign, leaving the following hash sign unescaped so an escaped deferred-expression delimiter is tokenized and evaluated. Exploitation requires a hosting application to place attacker-controlled text in an EL-evaluated context and rely on escaping or stripping controls; the bypass evaluates attacker-supplied expressions and can lead to code execution in affected applications.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability2.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper input validation in Eclipse Expressly 3.0.3 and earlier allows remote attackers to bypass EL-expression sanitization. The ELParserTokenManager consumes a backslash after a literal dollar sign, leaving the following hash sign unescaped so an escaped deferred-expression delimiter is tokenized and evaluated. Exploitation requires a hosting application to place attacker-controlled text in an EL-evaluated context and rely on escaping or stripping controls; the bypass evaluates attacker-supplied expressions and can lead to code execution in affected applications.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-28170
Published
May 26, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
The Eclipse Foundation
Product
Eclipse Expressly
Classifications
CWE-917, CWE-20
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 26, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <=3.0.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Eclipse Foundation · Eclipse Expresslyversion=unspecified <=3.0.3

Published CVSS scores

5.3NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
5.0NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-917Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement ('Expression Language Injection')
CWE-20Improper Input Validation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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