CVE-2021-1453 MEDIUM

CVE-2021-1453: Cisco IOS XE Software for the Catalyst 9000 Family Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability

Vendor Cisco
Product Cisco IOS XE Software
Weakness CWE-347
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 software image verification functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for the Cisco Catalyst 9000 Family of switches could allow an unauthenticated, physical attacker to execute unsigned code at system boot time. The vulnerability is due to an improper check in the code function that manages the verification of the digital signatures of system image files during the initial boot process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by loading unsigned software on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious software image or execute unsigned code and bypass the image verification check part of the secure boot process of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have unauthenticated physical access to the device or obtain privileged access to the root shell on the device.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

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