# CVE-2021-24227: Patreon WordPress - Path Traversal

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2021-24227 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2021-24227

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Limited Exploitation. The vulnerability is known but shows very limited attacker interest or exploitation activity.
- **CVSS score:** 7.5
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** Patreon WordPress
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)
- **Tags:** cms, wordpress

## Description

The Jetpack Scan team identified a Local File Disclosure vulnerability in the Patreon WordPress plugin before 1.7.0 that could be abused by anyone visiting the site. Using this attack vector, an attacker could leak important internal files like wp-config.php, which contains database credentials and cryptographic keys used in the generation of nonces and cookies.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2021-24227](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2021-24227) is a vulnerability within the Patreon WordPress plugin that allows for local file disclosure, enabling attackers to access sensitive files such as configuration data and cryptographic keys.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 1st of June 2025.

Insights from the CrowdSec network reveal that the attackers trying to exploit CVE-2021-24227 are composed of a fairly even mix of opportunistic and targeted actors. Some attackers employ preliminary reconnaissance, while others use indiscriminate scanning.
Telemetry from the CrowdSec network also shows that exploitation activity for CVE-2021-24227 remains steady week-over-week. Attack volumes are consistent with long-term trends, indicating sustained interest from threat actors. CVE-2021-24227 continues to be an active part of the threat landscape and will likely remain this way for the forseeable future.

Observed exploitation attempts involve HTTP requests containing the `?patron_only_image=` parameter, often used to expose internal file content.

## Timeline

- 2021-04-12: CVE Published. CVE-2021-24227 is published to NVD.
- 2025-06-01: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2021-24227 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-06-05: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2021-24227 for the first time.

## References

- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2021/CVE-2021-24227.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2021-24227) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2021-24227. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.