Network Services OrchestratorApplication · Cisco
CVE-2021-1132
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the API subsystem and in the web-management interface of Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to access sensitive data. This vulnerability exists because the web-management interface and certain HTTP-based APIs do not properly validate user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request that contains directory traversal character sequences to an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to access sensitive files on the affected system.Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
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 confidenceA directory traversal vulnerability in Cisco NSO's web-management interface and HTTP-based APIs allows unauthenticated remote attackers to access sensitive files by sending crafted HTTP requests containing traversal sequences (e.g., ../). The vulnerability stems from improper validation of user-supplied input.
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
Network Services OrchestratorApplication
= 5.3.1= 5.4= 5.4.0.1= 5.4.0.2CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Confirm Cisco NSO installation and versionRun 'ncs --version' from the command line or check the NSO installation directory for version informationAffected if The installed version matches 5.3.1, 5.4, 5.4.0.1, or 5.4.0.2
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Identify exposed web management interfaceCheck if the NSO web UI (typically on port 8080 or 8443) is listening on network interfaces accessible to remote attackers using 'netstat -tulpn | grep -E "(8080|8443)"'Affected if The web management port is bound to a non-localhost address or is externally accessible
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Verify HTTP-based API exposureCheck if NSO RESTCONF or other HTTP APIs are enabled and exposed by reviewing NSO configuration in $NCS_DIR/etc/ncs/ncs.conf or running 'ncs --status'Affected if HTTP-based APIs are enabled and accessible from untrusted networks
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Review access controls on NSO interfacesInspect firewall rules or network ACLs protecting NSO management interfaces to determine if unauthenticated access is possible from external IP addressesAffected if No authentication or IP-based restrictions are in place for the management interfaces
The environment is affected if Cisco NSO version 5.3.1, 5.4, 5.4.0.1, or 5.4.0.2 is installed AND the web management interface or HTTP-based APIs are accessible to unauthenticated users.
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 dataApply the Cisco-provided software update to a patched version of NSO. No workarounds exist; upgrading is the only remediation path.
Fix this in Network Services Orchestrator
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1132 — 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-2021-1132 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
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