Data Center Network ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2021-1249

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-01-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.5 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
Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) could allow a remote attacker with network-operator privileges to conduct a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack or a reflected file download (RFD) attack against a user of the interface. 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 · moderate confidence

Cisco DCNM web-based management interface contains XSS and reflected file download (RFD) vulnerabilities. An authenticated remote attacker with network-operator privileges can inject malicious scripts or trick users into downloading malicious files through the interface.

MitigationApply Cisco-provided patches for DCNM; if patches unavailable, restrict network-operator access and implement input validation at the application layer.

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
Data Center Network ManagerApplication
Affected:< 11.5\(1\)

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. Identify installed DCNM version
    Access the DCNM web interface and navigate to the About or Administration section to view the software version, or use the command-line interface (CLI) on the DCNM server to run the command that displays the installed version (e.g., 'show version' or similar).
    Affected if The installed version is below 11.5(1)
  2. Confirm web-based management interface is active
    Verify that the DCNM web interface (typically accessible via HTTPS on port 443 or 8443) is running and reachable. Check if the service is listening on expected HTTP/HTTPS ports.
    Affected if The web interface is accessible and no external access controls are in place
  3. Review network-operator account existence
    Check the DCNM user management or AAA configuration to determine if any accounts are assigned the network-operator role or equivalent privileges.
    Affected if At least one account with network-operator privileges exists in the system

Your environment is affected if the installed DCNM version is below 11.5(1) and the web-based management interface is accessible with network-operator accounts configured.

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 11.5 or later
Fixed in 11.5
Interim mitigation

Apply Cisco-provided patches for DCNM; if patches unavailable, restrict network-operator access and implement input validation at the application layer.

Fix this in Data Center Network Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1249 — 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-2021-1249 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