ExpressionEngine before 5.4.2 and 6.x before 6.0.3 allows PHP Code Injection by certain authenticated users who can leverage Translate::sav…

published 2021-03-15 5 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2021-13995

cvss: 8.8; version 3.1, NVD
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 2.8%; EPSS 2.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 86%
public exploits: 0; none known

ExpressionEngine before 5.4.2 and 6.x before 6.0.3 allows PHP Code Injection by certain authenticated users who can leverage Translate::save() to write to an _lang.php file under the system/user/language directory.

Patch / fix

fixed in 1

expressionengine expressionengine 5.4.2, 6.0.3

Exploit prediction

2.83% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 86% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

karmainsecurity.com http://karmainsecurity.com/KIS-2021-03 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
packetstormsecurity.com http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161805/ExpressionEngine-6.0.2-PHP-Code-Injection.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
NVD	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	2.0	6.5	AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

Classification

Weakness

CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code

References

karmainsecurity.com /KIS-2021-03
exploit, third-party-advisory
packetstormsecurity.com /files/161805/ExpressionEngine-6.0.2-PHP-Code-Injection.html
exploit, third-party-advisory, vdb-entry
expressionengine.com /features
vendor-advisory
hackerone.com /reports/1093444
permissions-required, third-party-advisory
seclists.org /fulldisclosure/2021/Mar/32
mailing-list, third-party-advisory

Sources

CVE List CVE-2021-27230
NVD CVE-2021-27230

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary