Integrated Management ControllerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2021-1397
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 web-based management interface of Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to redirect a user to a malicious web page. This vulnerability is due to improper input validation of the parameters in an HTTP request. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user to click a crafted link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to redirect a user to a malicious website. This vulnerability is known as an open redirect attack, which is used in phishing attacks to get users to visit malicious sites without their knowledge.
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 confidenceAn open redirect vulnerability in Cisco IMC's web-based management interface allows unauthenticated attackers to craft malicious links that redirect users to arbitrary websites. The flaw stems from improper input validation of HTTP request parameters, enabling phishing attacks.
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
Integrated Management ControllerApplication
< 3.2\(12.4\)
Ucs ManagerApplication
<= 4.1\(3b\)
Encs 5100 FirmwareOperating system
<= 4.4.2
Encs 5400 FirmwareOperating system
<= 4.4.2
C220 M6 FirmwareOperating system
<= 4.1\(2f\)
C225 M6 FirmwareOperating system
<= 4.1\(2f\)
C240 M6 FirmwareOperating system
<= 4.1\(2f\)
C245 M6 FirmwareOperating system
<= 4.1\(2f\)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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Cisco IMC web interface is exposedScan network for open ports 80, 443, or 8443 on Cisco IMC/UCS Manager/ENCS devices. Use nmap or similar: nmap -p 80,443,8443 <target_ip>Affected if The web-based management interface is accessible from a network where attackers can send malicious links
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Check Cisco IMC versionLog into Cisco IMC via CLI and run: 'show version' or access the web UI and check the About page. For UCS Manager, use: 'show version' in UCSM CLI.Affected if The installed version is below 3.2(12.4) for IMC, or matches any affected version range listed in the CVE
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Verify web-based management interface is enabledCheck Cisco IMC settings via CLI: 'scope chassis' then 'scope web-server' then 'show detail'. Confirm 'Enabled' status.Affected if The web-based management interface is enabled (required for the vulnerability to be exploitable)
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Review HTTP access logs for redirect parametersExamine web server logs for URLs containing parameters like 'redirect', 'url', 'dest', or 'next' pointing to external domains. Location varies by product, typically in /var/log/httpd/ or via UCS Manager syslogs.Affected if Logs show suspicious redirect URLs to untrusted external domains in HTTP requests
A user is affected if their Cisco IMC/UCS Manager/ENCS device has the web interface enabled AND runs a version within the affected ranges listed for this CVE.
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 data3.2
Apply Cisco's available software updates for IMC. If no update is available, implement URL validation at upstream proxies or WAFs to reject requests with untrusted redirect targets.
Fix this in Integrated Management Controller
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1397 — 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-2021-1397 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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