dbcve.org
Sd Wan FirmwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2021-1260

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-01-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 Cisco SD-WAN products could allow an authenticated attacker to perform command injection attacks against an affected device, which could allow the attacker to take certain actions with root privileges on the device. 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 confidence

Multiple command injection vulnerabilities in Cisco SD-WAN products allow an authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary OS commands with root privileges. These vulnerabilities stem from insufficient input validation in the SD-WAN management interface, enabling attackers who have valid credentials to inject and execute malicious commands at the underlying operating system level.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco security patches for the SD-WAN products as soon as possible. Review and rotate credentials, limit administrative access to trusted networks, and audit existing administrative accounts for signs of compromise.

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
Sd Wan FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 18.2.0= 18.3.0= 18.3.8= 18.4.6= 19.2.3= 19.2.99= 20.1.0
Sd Wan Vsmart Controller FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication
Affected:all versions
Sd Wan Vbond OrchestratorApplication
Affected:all versions

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Cisco SD-WAN product and firmware version
    Log into the device CLI and run 'show version' or access the vmanage web UI to view the system dashboard. Note the exact firmware version shown.
    Affected if The product is any of: Cisco SD-WAN Firmware, vsmart Controller, Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, or vbond Orchestrator, AND the firmware version matches = 18.2.0, = 18.3.0, = 18.3.8, = 18.4.6, = 19.2.3, = 19.2.99, or = 20.1.0, OR for vsmart/vbond/SD-WAN Manager the product is present regardless of version.
  2. Confirm management interface is accessible
    Verify the SD-WAN management interface (vmanage web UI or CLI) is reachable on the network. Check if TCP ports 443, 22, or other management ports are open and listening.
    Affected if The management interface is exposed to network accessible ports.
  3. Check for unauthorized administrative accounts
    In vmanage, navigate to Administration > User Management and review all accounts. In CLI, run 'show users' to see currently logged-in and configured users. Look for unfamiliar accounts or accounts created without authorization.
    Affected if Unexpected or unauthorized administrative accounts exist in the system.
  4. Look for suspicious processes or network connections
    In the device CLI, run 'show processes' or check system logs for unexpected processes. Use 'show connections' or netstat commands to identify unusual outbound connections from the device.
    Affected if Unexpected processes are running or unusual outbound network connections exist originating from the SD-WAN device.
  5. Review audit logs for command injection indicators
    In vmanage, go to Maintenance > Logs > Audit or access system logs. Search for entries containing shell execution, sudo commands, or API calls with unusual payload patterns.
    Affected if Logs contain evidence of shell command execution, unexpected API calls, or privilege escalation that was not performed by legitimate administrators.

The environment is affected if it runs any Cisco SD-WAN product with the specified firmware versions (18.2.0, 18.3.x, 18.4.6, 19.2.3, 19.2.99, 20.1.0) or any version of vsmart Controller/Catalyst SD-WAN Manager/vbond Orchestrator, and the management interface is network-accessible to an attacker who could have valid credentials.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the relevant Cisco security patches for the SD-WAN products as soon as possible. Review and rotate credentials, limit administrative access to trusted networks, and audit existing administrative accounts for signs of compromise.

Fix this in Sd Wan Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-1260 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