CVE-2021-42049Network attack vector

Oversighter whitewashing via irreversible revision oversight

Published Oct 6, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper control of a resource lifetime in MediaWiki Translate through 1.36.2 allows remote authenticated users to whitewash revisions via network requests. The Translate extension fails to preserve reversibility for oversight actions on translated pages after information such as PII is suppressed, so an oversighter cannot undo the suppression. Access requires an authenticated oversighter account; the demonstrated consequence is revision integrity loss and whitewashing, not disclosure of the suppressed content.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.03%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper control of a resource lifetime in MediaWiki Translate through 1.36.2 allows remote authenticated users to whitewash revisions via network requests. The Translate extension fails to preserve reversibility for oversight actions on translated pages after information such as PII is suppressed, so an oversighter cannot undo the suppression. Access requires an authenticated oversighter account; the demonstrated consequence is revision integrity loss and whitewashing, not disclosure of the suppressed content.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-42049
Published
Oct 6, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
T1565.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 6, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

6.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

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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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1565.001Stored Data Manipulation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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