CVE-2021-1398 MEDIUM

CVE-2021-1398: Cisco IOS XE Software Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability

Vendor Cisco
Product Cisco IOS XE Software
Weakness CWE-489
Published March 24, 2021
Last update November 8, 2024

CVSS base score

6.8/10
Attack vector Physical
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

A vulnerability in the boot logic of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with level 15 privileges or an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to execute arbitrary code on the underlying Linux operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to incorrect validations of specific function arguments that are passed to the boot script. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by tampering with a specific file, which an affected device would process during the initial boot process. On systems that are protected by the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) secure boot feature, a successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute unsigned code at boot time and bypass the image verification check in the secure boot process of the affected device.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

March 24, 2021 CVE published
November 8, 2024 Record updated