CVE-2021-1337 in RV016
Summary
by MITRE • 02/05/2021
Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco Small Business RV016, RV042, RV042G, RV082, RV320, and RV325 Routers could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause an affected device to restart unexpectedly. These 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.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/24/2021
The CVE-2021-1337 vulnerability affects Cisco Small Business routers including RV016 RV042 RV042G RV082 RV320 and RV325 models presenting critical security risks through their web-based management interfaces. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data within the web management portal. The flaw represents a classic injection vulnerability pattern that allows malicious actors to manipulate the system through carefully crafted HTTP requests.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the improper validation of user input within the router's web interface components. When administrators access the device management portal, the system fails to adequately validate or sanitize parameters passed through HTTP requests, creating opportunities for command injection attacks. This weakness enables attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms and execute arbitrary code with root privileges on the underlying operating system. The vulnerability specifically targets the web management interface components that handle administrative functions, making it particularly dangerous for network administrators who rely on these interfaces for device configuration and monitoring.
From an operational perspective, successful exploitation of CVE-2021-1337 can result in complete system compromise with root-level privileges, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to network infrastructure and potentially escalate their attack to other connected systems. The vulnerability also enables denial of service conditions through device reboots, disrupting network connectivity and potentially causing service outages that could impact business operations. Attackers require valid administrator credentials to exploit these vulnerabilities, but once obtained, they can leverage the weakness to execute code and potentially gain persistent access to the network infrastructure.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK framework techniques including T1059.001 Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation, while also mapping to CWE-77 Command Injection and CWE-20 Improper Input Validation. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying Cisco's security patches and updates, restricting administrative access to trusted networks, implementing network segmentation, and monitoring for suspicious HTTP traffic patterns. Additionally, network administrators should consider disabling unnecessary web management interfaces and enforcing strong authentication mechanisms with multi-factor authentication to reduce the attack surface and prevent unauthorized access to administrative functions.
Organizations must prioritize patch management and vulnerability remediation for affected Cisco Small Business routers, as the combination of remote code execution capabilities and denial of service potential creates significant operational risks. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in web applications and highlights the critical need for network administrators to maintain current security configurations and monitor for emerging threats targeting network infrastructure devices. Regular security assessments and network monitoring should be implemented to detect potential exploitation attempts and ensure continued protection against similar vulnerabilities in network management interfaces.