The REXML gem before 3.2.5 in Ruby before 2.6.7, 2.7.x before 2.7.3, and 3.x before 3.0.1 does not properly address XML round-trip issues. An incorrect document can be produced after parsing and serializing.
CVE-2021-28965
This high-severity CVE scores 7.5 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 5.1% (92nd percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs). GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 7.5
- EG Score
- 7.5HIGHmedium confidence
- EG Risk
- 40EG Risk 40/100CISA SSVC
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity75% × 45%Exploitation5% × 40%Automatability30% × 15%CISA SSVC: Track at low or medium mission impact; Track or Attend at high (mission-essential systems).Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high. - EPSS PROB
- 5.1%
- EPSS %ILE
- 92nd
- KEV
- Not listed
CISA SSVCTrack at low or medium mission impact; Track or Attend at high (mission-essential systems).
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.
Exploitation none (no KEV listing, exploit record or EPSS ≥ 50%) · Automatable unknown (not published for this CVE) · Technical impact partial (CVSS below 9.0). Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it: high means the affected system is essential to your organisation's mission, or its compromise could cause irreversible harm to people. CISA's decision table
Published
April 21, 2021
Last Modified
November 21, 2024
References (6)
- cve@mitrehttps://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/WTVFTLFVCSUE5CXHINJEUCKSHU4SWDMT/
- cve@mitrehttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210528-0003/
- cve@mitrehttps://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2021/04/05/xml-round-trip-vulnerability-in-rexml-cve-2021-28965/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/WTVFTLFVCSUE5CXHINJEUCKSHU4SWDMT/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210528-0003/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2021/04/05/xml-round-trip-vulnerability-in-rexml-cve-2021-28965/
Vendor Advisories for CVE-2021-28965(12)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
- RHSA-2026:8838Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- RHSA-2026:7307Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- RHSA-2026:7305Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- RHSA-2022:0582Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: ruby:2.6 security update
- RHSA-2022:0581Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: ruby:2.6 security update
- RHSA-2021:2587Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: ruby:2.5 security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- RHSA-2021:2584Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: ruby:2.7 security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- RHSA-2021:2588Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: ruby:2.6 security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- +4 more
Patch Availability(13)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fix (by version range) / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ubuntu | ruby2.7-doc (2.7.2-4ubuntu1.1) @ hirsute | 2026-05-26 | ubuntu |
| ubuntu | ruby2.3-tcltk (2.3.1-2~ubuntu16.04.16) @ xenial | 2026-05-26 | ubuntu |
| redhat | ruby4-0-main-4.0.0-33.3.hum1 | 2026-04-17 | redhat |
| redhat | ruby3-4-main-3.4.8-31.1.hum1 | 2026-04-09 | redhat |
| redhat | ruby3-3-main-3.3.10-23.1.hum1 | 2026-04-09 | redhat |
| redhat | ruby:2.6-8010020220201152941.c27ad7f8 | 2022-02-21 | redhat |
| redhat | ruby:2.6-8020020220201131207.4cda2c84 | 2022-02-21 | redhat |
| redhat | ruby:2.6-8040020210430142949.522a0ee4 | 2021-06-29 | redhat |
| redhat | ruby:2.7-8040020210421133318.522a0ee4 | 2021-06-29 | redhat |
| redhat | ruby:2.5-8040020200923213910.522a0ee4 | 2021-06-29 | redhat |
| redhat | rh-ruby27-ruby-0:2.7.3-129.el7 | 2021-06-03 | redhat |
| redhat | rh-ruby26-ruby-0:2.6.7-119.el7 | 2021-06-03 | redhat |
| redhat | rh-ruby25-ruby-0:2.5.9-9.el7 | 2021-05-26 | 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
(18 across 18 ecosystems)
Alpine:v3.10(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.11(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.12(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.13(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.14(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.15(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.16(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.17(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.18(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.19(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.20(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.21(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.22(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.23(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.24(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby | — |
| — |
Debian:10(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby2.5 | 2.5.5-3, 2.5.5-3+deb10u1, 2.5.5-3+deb10u2, 2.5.5-3+deb10u3 |
| — |
Debian:11(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| ruby2.7 | — |
| — |
RubyGems(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| rexml | 3.1.7.3 ... 3.2.4 (9 versions) |
| — |
Additional Vendor Advisories
(2)
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 6× in last 7d / 32× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. 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. Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 100 of 184 total refreshes for this CVE.
- 2026-10-09 20:04 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-10-08 16:39 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-10-07 23:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-10-06 15:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-10-05 17:40 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-10-04 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-10-03 14:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-10-03 14:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-10-02 16:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-10-01 19:46 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-30 15:34 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-09-30 15:00 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-29 15:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-28 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-27 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-26 15:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-26 15:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-26 04:12 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-09-26 00:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-24 14:00 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-23 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-21 20:28 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-19 15:37 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-18 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-17 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-09-17 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-16 14:05 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-15 03:06 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-09-12 14:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-11 14:49 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-11 09:33 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-08 21:56 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-07 15:58 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-06 19:01 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-09-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-05 15:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-04 13:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-09-04 05:03 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-08-30 19:14 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-08-28 21:37 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-27 14:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-26 14:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-25 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-24 14:12 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-23 00:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-21 23:46 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-20 22:52 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-20 05:04 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-08-19 17:01 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-18 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-17 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-16 14:53 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-16 02:11 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-16 02:11 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-15 01:27 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-13 21:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-12 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-11 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-09 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-08 16:33 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-07 16:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-06 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-05 19:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-05 00:11 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-08-04 15:06 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-04 10:34 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-03 10:33 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-02 02:24 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-08-01 04:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-30 16:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-30 16:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-30 01:28 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-30 01:27 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-28 15:33 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-26 14:52 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-26 14:52 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-25 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-24 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-23 14:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-23 01:59 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-22 22:46 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-22 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-22 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-21 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-21 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-20 17:05 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-19 14:28 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-19 02:27 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-19 02:27 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-18 22:29 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-07-18 10:02 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-18 10:02 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-16 17:00 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-15 16:55 UTCEPSS rescore
Related CVEs(same product + same vendor)
Same product
10 shownDebian:10:ruby2.5 · Alpine:v3.10:ruby
Same vendor
10 shownredhat:RHSA-2021:2104 · redhat:RHSA-2022:0581 · redhat:RHSA-2026:7305
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2021-28965?
When was CVE-2021-28965 disclosed?
Is CVE-2021-28965 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-28965?
How do I remediate CVE-2021-28965?
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2021-28965
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2021-28965?
EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.