The package python/cpython from 0 and before 3.6.13, from 3.7.0 and before 3.7.10, from 3.8.0 and before 3.8.8, from 3.9.0 and before 3.9.2 are vulnerable to Web Cache Poisoning via urllib.parse.parse_qsl and urllib.parse.parse_qs by using a vector called parameter cloaking. When the attacker can separate query parameters using a semicolon (;), they can cause a difference in the interpretation of the request between the proxy (running with default configuration) and the server. This can result in malicious requests being cached as completely safe ones, as the proxy would usually not see the semicolon as a separator, and therefore would not include it in a cache key of an unkeyed parameter.
CVE-2021-23336
“▲” beside the score: it is higher than NVD's CVSS score.
Score elevated to 6.5 because EPSS predicted 41% probability of exploitation within the next 30 days (98th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs) when EchelonGraph scored this CVE. NVD baseline CVSS 5.9 retained for reference. Confidence: see factors.
- Lower severity and no public exploit yet
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 5.9
- EG Score
- 6.5MEDIUMhigh confidence
- EG Risk
- 43EG Risk 43/100
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.
How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)Severity59% × 45%Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 5.9 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.Exploitation41% × 40%FIRST EPSS: the 30-day exploitation probability when EchelonGraph scored this CVE.Automatability0% × 15%CISA's SSVC Automatable value: no (Vulnrichment).SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at every mission impact level.Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines. - EPSS PROB
- 41%
- EPSS %ILE
- 98th
- KEV
- Not listed
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (6.5): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 6.5 is EPSS's lift toward 9.0 from its impact severity (EG Severity, CVSS 5.9 MEDIUM): a likelihood of exploitation, not impact.
- EG Severity
- 5.9 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 41% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-17). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it
Published
February 15, 2021
Last Modified
October 14, 2026
Advisory Details (9)
Auto-updated Oct 14, 2026Pony Mail
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf9fa47ab66495c78bb4120b0754dd9531ca2ff0430f6685ac9b07772%40%3Cdev.mina.apache.org%3E[SECURITY] Fedora 33 Update: python3.8-3.8.8-1.fc33 - package-announce - Fedora mailing-lists
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MNUN5SOMFL2BBKP6ZAICIIUPQKZDMGYO/[SECURITY] Fedora 32 Update: python36-3.6.13-1.fc32 - package-announce - Fedora mailing-lists
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MP572OLHMS7MZO4KUPSCIMSZIA5IZZ62/[SECURITY] Fedora 33 Update: python3.7-3.7.10-1.fc33 - package-announce - Fedora mailing-lists
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NODWHDIFBQE5RU5PUWUVE47JOT5VCMJ2/[SECURITY] Fedora 33 Update: python3.6-3.6.13-1.fc33 - package-announce - Fedora mailing-lists
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HCQTCSP6SCVIYNIRUJC5X7YBVUHPLSC4/[SECURITY] [DLA 2569-1] python-django security update
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/02/msg00030.htmloss-security - Django security releases: CVE-2021-23336: Web cache poisoning via ``django.utils.http.limited_parse_qsl()``
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/02/19/4Cache poisoning in popular open source packages | Snyk Blog | Snyk
https://snyk.io/blog/cache-poisoning-in-popular-open-source-packages/bpo-42967: only use '&' as a query string separator
Fix merged in python/cpython PR #24297 on 2021-02-14 — awaiting tagged release
https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/24297Vendor Advisories for CVE-2021-23336(6)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
- RHSA-2021:4162Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: python38:3.8 and python38-devel:3.8 security update
- RHSA-2021:4151Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: python27:2.7 security update
- RHSA-2021:3252Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: python27 security update
- RHSA-2021:3254Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: rh-python38 security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- RHSA-2021:1633Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: python3 security update
- CVE-2021-23336Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC)
CVE-2021-23336
Patch Availability(6)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fix (by version range) / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ubuntu | python3-django (1:1.11.11-1ubuntu1.11) @ bionic | 2026-10-14 | ubuntu |
| redhat | python27:2.7-8050020210811095446.3e7ace8b | 2021-11-09 | redhat |
| redhat | python38-devel:3.8-8050020210811101222.e3d35cca | 2021-11-09 | redhat |
| redhat | python27-python-pygments-0:1.5-5.el7 | 2021-08-24 | redhat |
| redhat | rh-python38-python-urllib3-0:1.25.7-7.el7 | 2021-08-24 | redhat |
| redhat | python3-0:3.6.8-37.el8 | 2021-05-18 | redhat |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
Affected Packages
(28 across 19 ecosystems)
Debian:11(4)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| pypy3 | — |
| — |
| python2.7 | 2.7.18-8 |
| — |
| python3.9 | — |
| — |
| python-django | — |
| — |
Debian:9(3)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python2.7 | 2.7.13-2, 2.7.13-2+deb9u1, 2.7.13-2+deb9u2, 2.7.13-2+deb9u3, 2.7.13-2+deb9u4 |
| — |
| python3.5 | 3.5.3-1, 3.5.3-1+deb9u1, 3.5.3-1+deb9u2, 3.5.3-1+deb9u3 |
| — |
| python-django | 1:1.10.7-2 ... 1:1.10.7-2+deb9u9 (11 versions) |
| — |
Debian:10(2)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python2.7 | 2.7.16-2, 2.7.16-2+deb10u1, 2.7.16-2+deb10u2 |
| — |
| python-django | 1:1.11.21-1 ... 1:1.11.29-1~deb10u1 (7 versions) |
| — |
Debian:12(2)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| pypy3 | — |
| — |
| python-django | — |
| — |
Debian:13(2)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| pypy3 | — |
| — |
| python-django | — |
| — |
Debian:14(2)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| pypy3 | — |
| — |
| python-django | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.12(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.13(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.14(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.15(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.16(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.17(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.18(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.19(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.20(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.21(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.22(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.23(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.24(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| python3 | — |
| — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Additional Vendor Advisories
(1)
Vendors that published advisories for this CVE beyond the curated set above. Broader coverage but minimal per-row detail — click through for the original advisory.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 7× in last 7d / 33× in last 30d)
Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 93 of 175 refreshes on record for this CVE.
A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. 7 repeat rows among the latest 100 are merged into the row they repeat. The 82 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.
- 2026-10-23 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-22 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-21 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-20 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-19 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-18 09:09 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-17 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-16 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-15 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-14 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-14 12:26 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-14 12:26 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-4qjw-vx62-3vqx · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 5.9
- 2026-10-14 11:40 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-14 11:40 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-14 11:40 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-4qjw-vx62-3vqx · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 5.9
- 2026-10-13 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-12 19:23 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 23:48 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 13:43 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-10 19:56 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-09 20:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-08 16:39 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-07 23:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-06 15:13 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-03 14:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
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- 2026-10-02 16:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-10-01 19:46 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-30 15:31 UTCEG score recompute▲ 0.30
- 2026-09-30 15:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-26 15:54 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-26 09:25 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-09-26 00:21 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-24 14:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-23 13:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-22 14:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 41% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-21 20:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-19 15:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-18 19:23 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-17 19:23 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-16 14:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-15 03:06 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-13 16:43 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-12 14:57 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-11 09:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-10 09:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-08 21:56 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-07 15:58 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-06 22:13 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-09-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-05 15:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-04 13:57 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-04 05:03 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-02 14:08 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-09-01 03:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-30 19:14 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-30 01:19 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-28 21:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-26 14:42 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-25 13:45 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-23 00:16 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-21 23:46 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-20 22:52 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-20 08:01 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-08-19 17:01 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-18 13:45 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-16 14:52 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-16 02:11 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-15 01:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-13 21:57 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-12 13:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-11 13:38 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-09 13:43 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-07 16:23 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-05 19:14 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-05 03:11 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-08-04 15:06 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-04 10:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-02 02:24 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-08-01 04:12 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-30 16:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-30 01:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-26 14:52 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-25 14:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-24 14:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-23 14:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-23 01:57 UTCEG score recompute▲ 0.30
- 2026-07-22 22:44 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-22 14:05 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-21 15:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-20 17:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-19 14:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
- 2026-07-19 01:29 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-07-18 10:02 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 36% · 98th percentile
Related CVEs(same product + same vendor + same CWE)
Same product
10 shownAlpine:v3.12:python3 · Alpine:v3.14:python3 · Alpine:v3.15:python3
Same vendor
10 shownredhat:RHSA-2021:1633 · redhat:RHSA-2021:3252 · redhat:RHSA-2021:3254
Same CWE
10 shownCWE-444
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2021-23336?
When was CVE-2021-23336 made public?
Is CVE-2021-23336 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-23336?
How do I remediate CVE-2021-23336?
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2021-23336
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2021-23336?
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