CVE-2021-45085Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Cross-site scripting via unencoded Most Visited entries

Published Dec 16, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Cross-site scripting in GNOME Web before 40.4 and 41.0 allows remote attackers to execute script through a crafted Most Visited entry. The ephy-about:overview generator inserts stored page titles and URLs into its HTML without context-appropriate output encoding, so payload markup is interpreted as active content. The attack requires a user to visit the payload page often enough for it to enter the Most Visited list and then render the overview, enabling script execution in the internal page.

CVSS severity6.1
Medium
EPSS probability1.50%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Cross-site scripting in GNOME Web before 40.4 and 41.0 allows remote attackers to execute script through a crafted Most Visited entry. The ephy-about:overview generator inserts stored page titles and URLs into its HTML without context-appropriate output encoding, so payload markup is interpreted as active content. The attack requires a user to visit the payload page often enough for it to enter the Most Visited list and then render the overview, enabling script execution in the internal page.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-45085
Published
Dec 16, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-79, T1189
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 16, 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 privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

4.3NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
6.1NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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-79Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
T1189Drive-by Compromise

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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