CVE-2021-36031: Magento/project community edition Path Traversal Vulnerability
HIGHCVE-2021-36031 is a HIGH path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Magento/project community edition libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves magento path traversal vulnerability via the `theme[preview_image]` parameter. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.3.7-p1, 2.4.2-p2.
CVE-2021-36031 at a Glance
How to Fix CVE-2021-36031
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Magento/project community edition dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
Upgrade magento/project-community-edition to Latest secure releaseUpgrade magento/community-edition to 2.3.7-p1Upgrade magento/community-edition to Latest secure releaseUpgrade magento/community-edition to 2.4.2-p2Upgrade magento/community-edition to Latest secure releaseRun the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
inspect dependencies for magento/project-community-editionHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-36031, inspect your project dependencies for Magento/project community edition:
inspect dependencies for magento/project-community-editionAnalyze the terminal output to locate any version of Magento/project community edition in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.3.7-p1), your application is affected.
Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.
Technical Details
Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. In Magento/project community edition, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.
Source Advisory Statement
CVE-2021-36031 Affected Magento/project community edition Versions
5 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
magento/project-community-edition
|
Packagist |
≤ 2.0.2
|
|
|
magento/community-edition
|
Packagist |
< 2.3.7-p1
|
2.3.7-p1
|
|
magento/community-edition
|
Packagist |
2.3.7
All 1 versions
2.3.7
|
None specified
|
|
magento/community-edition
|
Packagist |
≥ 2.4.2-p1
< 2.4.2-p2
|
2.4.2-p2
|
|
magento/community-edition
|
Packagist |
2.4.2
All 1 versions
2.4.2
|
None specified
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-36031?
Which Magento/project community edition versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2021-36031?
Is magento/project-community-edition affected?
Is magento/community-edition affected?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-36031?
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2021-36031?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-7w95-qwhh-q9p3",
"modified" : "2025-11-06T23:43:52Z",
"published" : "2022-05-24T19:12:47Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-36031" ],
"summary" : "Magento Path Traversal vulnerability via the `theme[preview_image]` parameter",
"details" : "Magento Commerce versions 2.4.2 (and earlier), 2.4.2-p1 (and earlier) and 2.3.7 (and earlier) are affected by a Path Traversal vulnerability via the `theme[preview_image]` parameter. An attacker with admin privileges could leverage this vulnerability to achieve remote code execution.",
"severity" : [ ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Packagist",
"name" : "magento/project-community-edition"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"last_affected" : "2.0.2"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Packagist",
"name" : "magento/community-edition"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "2.3.7-p1"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Packagist",
"name" : "magento/community-edition"
},
"versions" : [ "2.3.7" ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Packagist",
"name" : "magento/community-edition"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "2.4.2-p1"
}, {
"fixed" : "2.4.2-p2"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Packagist",
"name" : "magento/community-edition"
},
"versions" : [ "2.4.2" ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36031"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/magento/magento2"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb21-64.html"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
"severity" : "HIGH",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2025-11-06T23:43:52Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2021-09-01T15:15:00Z"
}
}