CVE-2011-2538
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedCisco Video Communications Server (VCS) before X7.0.3 contains a command injection vulnerability which allows remote, authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceCisco Video Communications Server (VCS) versions prior to X7.0.3 contain a command injection vulnerability allowing remote, authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands via unspecified vectors. The vulnerability requires authentication but provides high severity impact through command execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< x7.0.3CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Cisco VCS version via web interfaceLog into the Cisco VCS admin web interface and navigate to System > Software or the About/Status page to view the installed software version.Affected if The displayed version number is less than X7.0.3 (for example, X7.0.2, X7.0.1, X6.x, etc.)
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Check Cisco VCS version via CLIAccess the Cisco VCS through SSH or console, log in with administrative credentials, and run the command 'show version' to display the software version.Affected if The reported version is prior to X7.0.3
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Verify administrative access is exposedDetermine if the Cisco VCS administrative interface (HTTPS port 443) is reachable from untrusted networks or the internet by reviewing firewall rules or network accessibility.Affected if Administrative interface is exposed to untrusted networks, increasing the risk that compromised credentials could be used to exploit this vulnerability
The environment is affected if the installed Cisco VCS version is X7.0.2 or earlier, and the administrative interface is accessible to potential attackers.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade Cisco VCS to version X7.0.3 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict administrative access to trusted networks and monitor for unauthorized command execution.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-2538 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-2538 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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