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Public proof of conceptFix available

CVE-2021-1384

A public proof of concept exists; no exploitation attested.

  • Published2021-03-24
  • Fixed in17.4.2 · 17.3.3 · 16.9.7 · 16.6.9
  • WeaknessCWE-77 · CWE-78

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

A vulnerability in Cisco IOx application hosting environment of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to inject commands into the underlying operating system as the root user. This vulnerability is due to incomplete validation of fields in the application packages loaded onto IOx. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a crafted application .tar file and loading it onto the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform command injection into the underlying operating system as the root user.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2021-03-2420:15CVE publishedNVD

Versions per branch

NVD
Cisco ios xe
BranchAffectedFixed in
17.4≥ 17.4.0, < 17.4.217.4.2
17.3≥ 17.3.2, < 17.3.317.3.3
16.9≥ 16.9.0, < 16.9.716.9.7
16.6< 16.6.916.6.9
17.5= 17.5.0no fix published

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As cisco, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • Cisco IOS XE Software

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2022-04-22

Fix

  1. Update Cisco ios xe to 17.4.2 · 17.3.3 · 16.9.7 · 16.6.9

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof of concept
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionpoc2024-11-08
  • CNACVSS 3.16.5known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.17.2read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.08.5read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-77known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-78read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score35.4 %read 2026-11-04
  • GitHub Advisoriesadvisory—

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2021-03-24
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-x749-h24f-x5rh

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-1384?

A vulnerability in Cisco IOx application hosting environment of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to inject commands into the underlying operating system as the root user. This vulnerability is due to incomplete validation of fields in the application packages loaded onto IOx. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a crafted application .tar file and loading it onto the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform command injection into the underlying operating system as the root user.

Is CVE-2021-1384 actively exploited?

A proof-of-concept exploit exists for CVE-2021-1384, but active exploitation has not been confirmed at this time.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-1384?

CVE-2021-1384 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.2 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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