CVE-2021-1142
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 · uneditedMultiple vulnerabilities in the web UI of Cisco Smart Software Manager Satellite could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
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 confidenceMultiple critical vulnerabilities in the web UI of Cisco Smart Software Manager Satellite allow unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. The attack vector is remote and requires no authentication, making it highly exploitable.
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<= 5.1.0CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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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Identify if Cisco Smart Software Manager Satellite is installedLook for the application in the system by checking for typical Cisco installation directories, or query running services for 'smart software manager' or 'cssm' related processesAffected if The software is present on the system
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Determine the installed version of Cisco Smart Software Manager SatelliteCheck the version information using command-line tools, configuration files, or the web interface login page. Common methods include: checking /opt/cisco/smartsoftwaremanager/version or similar, or accessing the web UI and looking for version information in the footer or about pageAffected if The installed version is 5.1.0 or lower (any version up to and including 5.1.0)
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Verify if the web UI is accessibleCheck if the Smart Software Manager Satellite web interface port (typically 8443 or 443) is listening and reachable on the server using 'netstat -tuln | grep -E '8443|443'' or similar network inspectionAffected if The web UI port is open and accepting connections, making the vulnerable interface exposed
A system is affected if Cisco Smart Software Manager Satellite version 5.1.0 or lower is installed with its web interface accessible on the network.
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 vendor-provided patches from Cisco for Smart Software Manager Satellite immediately, as this is a critical RCE vulnerability exploitable without authentication.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,448.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1142 — 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-2021-1142 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data