CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-40525 — Apache James security vulnerability

Critical CVSS 9.1

Apache James ManagedSieve implementation alongside with the file storage for sieve scripts is vulnerable to path traversal, allowing reading and writing any file. This vulnerability had been patched in Apache James 3.6.1 and higher. We recommend the upgrade. Distributed and Cassandra based products are also not impacted.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.1 (3.1)
Published
2022-01-04
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-22

Affected products

  • apache / james

Matched remediation archetype

Path traversal, unsafe upload, and file handling

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted filenames, archive entries, URLs, and path segments into read, write, include, extraction, and upload operations.
  • Identify filesystem roots, mount permissions, symbolic-link behavior, archive handling, and whether uploaded content is web-accessible or executable.
  • Review canonicalization and containment checks across supported operating systems and storage backends.

Remediate safely

  • Generate server-side storage identifiers and resolve paths beneath a fixed root using filesystem-aware containment checks.
  • Reject absolute, parent-relative, alternate-separator, device, link, and archive entries that escape the intended root.
  • Store uploads outside executable or served paths, validate type and size, and use private atomic temporary files.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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