Smart Software Manager On PremApplication · Cisco

CVE-2021-1218

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-01-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.0 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 · unedited
A vulnerability in the web management interface of Cisco Smart Software Manager satellite could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to redirect a user to an undesired web page. The vulnerability is due to improper input validation of the URL parameters in an HTTP request that is sent to an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request that could cause the web application to redirect the request to a specified malicious URL. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to redirect a user to a malicious website.

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 confidence

This is an open redirect vulnerability in Cisco Smart Software Manager satellite's web management interface. The application improperly validates URL parameters in HTTP requests, allowing an authenticated attacker to craft malicious requests that redirect users to attacker-controlled websites. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation on redirect URLs.

MitigationImplement strict URL validation using an allowlist approach for all redirect parameters, ensuring only trusted domains are permitted. Additionally, implement relative URL path validation to prevent absolute URL redirects to external domains.

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
Smart Software Manager On PremApplication
Affected:<= 5.0

CVSS 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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Cisco Smart Software Manager On Prem is deployed
    Identify whether the Cisco Smart Software Manager On Prem application is installed in your environment. Check for its typical installation directories, services, or consult your software inventory.
    Affected if The product is not present in your environment, you are not affected by this vulnerability.
  2. Check installed version
    Locate and retrieve the installed version of Cisco Smart Software Manager On Prem. Consult the product documentation for the appropriate method to query the version, typically via the web interface, command-line interface, or version file.
    Affected if The installed version is 5.0 or lower, making it fall within the affected range.
  3. Verify web management interface is enabled
    Determine whether the web management interface for Cisco Smart Software Manager On Prem is enabled and accessible. Check service configurations or network exposure settings.
    Affected if The web management interface is disabled or not accessible, the vulnerability cannot be exploited even if the version is affected.
  4. Review access controls
    Assess whether authentication is required to access the web management interface and whether untrusted users could potentially reach it.
    Affected if Unauthenticated or untrusted users can access the web management interface, increasing the exploitability of this vulnerability.

Your environment is affected if Cisco Smart Software Manager On Prem version 5.0 or lower is installed and its web management interface is accessible to authenticated attackers who could craft malicious redirect URLs.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.0
Interim mitigation

Implement strict URL validation using an allowlist approach for all redirect parameters, ensuring only trusted domains are permitted. Additionally, implement relative URL path validation to prevent absolute URL redirects to external domains.

Fix this in Smart Software Manager On Prem Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1218 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-1218 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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