Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2021-1441


A vulnerability in the hardware initialization routines of Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco 1100 Series Industrial Integrated Services Routers and Cisco ESR6300 Embedded Series Routers could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute unsigned code at system boot time. This vulnerability is due to incorrect validations of parameters passed to a diagnostic script that is executed when the device boots up. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by tampering with an executable file stored on a device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute unsigned code at boot time and bypass the software image verification check part of the secure boot process of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need administrative level credentials (level 15) on the device.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.7, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 3 products from cisco, from cisco, from cisco organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2021, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2021-03-24T20:15:15.040

Last Modified

2024-11-21T05:44:22.270

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 6.7 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

  • Access Vector: LOCAL
  • Access Complexity: LOW
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
  • Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
  • Availability Impact: COMPLETE
Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-78
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-78

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Operating System cisco ios_xe 3.15.1xbs Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 3.15.2xbs Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.9.1c Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.10.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.10.1e Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.11.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.11.1c Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.11.1s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.1c Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.1s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.1za Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.2 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.2s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.2t Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.3 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.3s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 16.12.4 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 17.1.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 17.1.1s Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 17.1.1t Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 17.1.2 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 17.2.1 Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 17.2.1r Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 17.2.1v Yes
Operating System cisco ios_xe 17.2.3 Yes
Hardware cisco esr6300 - No
Hardware cisco ir1101 - No

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For cisco's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.