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iOSApplication · Cisco

CVE-2021-1460

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-03-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.3.2 / 1.12.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
A vulnerability in the Cisco IOx Application Framework of Cisco 809 Industrial Integrated Services Routers (Industrial ISRs), Cisco 829 Industrial ISRs, Cisco CGR 1000 Compute Module, and Cisco IC3000 Industrial Compute Gateway could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient error handling during packet processing. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a high and sustained rate of crafted TCP traffic to the IOx web server on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the IOx web server to stop processing requests, resulting in a DoS condition.

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 vulnerability exists in the Cisco IOx Application Framework's web server component on affected Industrial ISR and Compute Gateway devices. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit insufficient error handling during packet processing by sending a high, sustained rate of crafted TCP traffic to the IOx web server, causing it to stop processing requests and resulting in denial of service.

MitigationApply the Cisco vendor patch when available. In the interim, implement network-level controls such as firewall rules or ACLs to restrict access to the IOx web server ports from untrusted networks, and consider rate limiting on perimeter devices.

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
iOSApplication
Affected:< 15.9\(3\)m3
Cgr1000 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.12.0.3
Ic3000 Industrial Compute Gateway FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.3.2

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 device model
    Determine if the device is an Industrial ISR, CGR1000, or IC3000 Industrial Compute Gateway using 'show version' or physical labeling
    Affected if Device model is not one of these three affected product lines - not vulnerable
  2. Verify IOx is enabled
    Check if IOx application hosting feature is enabled on the device using 'show iox' command
    Affected if IOx is not installed or not enabled - not vulnerable
  3. Check iOS version (for Industrial ISR)
    Run 'show version' and check the iOS version. Look for versions < 15.9(3)m3
    Affected if iOS version is 15.9(3)m3 or higher - not vulnerable (note: format may vary, compare numerically)
  4. Check CGR1000 firmware version
    For CGR1000 devices, check firmware version using 'show hardware' or 'show version' and verify it is < 1.12.0.3
    Affected if Firmware version is 1.12.0.3 or higher - not vulnerable
  5. Check IC3000 firmware version
    For IC3000 Industrial Compute Gateway, check firmware version and verify it is < 1.3.2
    Affected if Firmware version is 1.3.2 or higher - not vulnerable
  6. Assess network exposure of IOx web server
    Verify if IOx web server ports (default 443/8443) are exposed to untrusted networks using 'show ip interface' or network scans
    Affected if IOx web server is only accessible from trusted networks - reduced exposure, though the vulnerability still exists if versions are affected

Device is affected if it is a Cisco Industrial ISR, CGR1000, or IC3000 with IOx enabled AND the installed version/firmware is below the affected thresholds listed.

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 1.3.2 / 1.12.0.3 / 15.9 or later
Fixed in 1.3.21.12.0.315.9
Interim mitigation

Apply the Cisco vendor patch when available. In the interim, implement network-level controls such as firewall rules or ACLs to restrict access to the IOx web server ports from untrusted networks, and consider rate limiting on perimeter devices.

Fix this in iOS 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
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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-2021-1460 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