CVE-2021-1196 in Small Business
Summary
by MITRE • 01/14/2021
Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco Small Business RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W Routers could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause an affected device to restart unexpectedly. The vulnerabilities are due to improper validation of user-supplied input in the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code as the root user on the underlying operating system or cause the device to reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. To exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker would need to have valid administrator credentials on the affected device. Cisco has not released software updates that address these vulnerabilities.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/13/2021
The CVE-2021-1196 vulnerability affects Cisco Small Business routers including RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W models, presenting a critical security risk through their web-based management interfaces. These devices operate as essential network infrastructure components providing routing and wireless connectivity for small business environments, making them attractive targets for cyber adversaries seeking persistent network access. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the web interface, creating a pathway for authenticated attackers to escalate privileges and execute malicious code. This flaw represents a classic example of a command injection vulnerability where user-supplied data is not properly sanitized before being processed by the underlying system, allowing attackers to manipulate the device's operating system behavior.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to possess valid administrator credentials, establishing a baseline authentication requirement that limits the attack surface but does not eliminate the risk. Attackers can craft specially designed HTTP requests that bypass input validation checks, enabling them to inject malicious commands into the router's command execution pipeline. When these requests are processed, they can trigger arbitrary code execution with root privileges, effectively granting the attacker complete control over the device's operating system. The impact extends beyond code execution to include potential denial of service conditions through device reloads, which can disrupt network connectivity for the entire affected organization. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-77 and CWE-89 categories, representing command injection and SQL injection weaknesses respectively, while also aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter and T1499.004 for network disruption.
The operational implications of CVE-2021-1196 are severe for small business networks that rely on these routers for their connectivity infrastructure. Once exploited, attackers can establish persistent backdoors, monitor network traffic, redirect DNS requests, or use the compromised device as a pivot point for attacking other systems within the network. The vulnerability's presence in multiple router models within the same product line suggests a systemic design flaw that affects a significant portion of Cisco's small business routing portfolio. Organizations with these devices in production environments face potential data breaches, network outages, and compliance violations, particularly in regulated industries where network security is paramount. The lack of official software updates from Cisco for this specific vulnerability leaves affected organizations with limited remediation options, forcing them to implement workarounds or consider hardware replacement strategies. Network segmentation and access control measures become critical defensive controls in mitigating the risk, as they can limit the blast radius of a successful exploitation attempt while maintaining operational continuity.