Webex Meetings DesktopApplication · Cisco
CVE-2021-1502
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 Cisco Webex Network Recording Player for Windows and MacOS and Cisco Webex Player for Windows and MacOS could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on an affected system. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of values within Webex recording files formatted as either Advanced Recording Format (ARF) or Webex Recording Format (WRF). An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a user a malicious ARF or WRF file through a link or email attachment and persuading the user to open the file. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected system with the privileges of the targeted user.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in Cisco Webex Network Recording Player and Cisco Webex Player for Windows and MacOS allows arbitrary code execution due to insufficient validation of values in ARF and WRF recording files. Attackers exploit this by tricking users into opening malicious recording files, executing code with the victim's user privileges.
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
Webex Meetings DesktopApplication
all versions
Webex Meetings OnlineApplication
all versions
Webex Meetings ServerApplication
= 4.0
Webex Network Recording PlayerApplication
all versions< 41.5
Webex TeamsApplication
= 3.0.15485.0CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check if Cisco Webex Network Recording Player is installedOn Windows, check Programs and Features or look in C:\Program Files\Webex\Webex Recording Player. On Mac, check /Applications for Webex Recording Player.appAffected if The application is present on the system
-
Determine the version of Cisco Webex Network Recording PlayerRight-click the executable (Webex Recording Player.exe or Webex Recording Player.app), select Properties, then look at the Version tab. Alternatively, run the player and check Help > AboutAffected if Version is any version (all versions affected) or version < 41.5
-
Check for Cisco Webex Meetings Server versionIf using an on-premise Webex Meetings Server, check the server admin console or run: sudo vmtoolsd --cmd 'info-get guestinfo.webex.meetings.version' for VMware-based deploymentsAffected if Version equals exactly 4.0
-
Check for Cisco Webex Teams versionOpen Cisco Webex Teams (or Webex App), click your profile picture, select Help > About Webex Teams to view the version numberAffected if Version equals exactly 3.0.15485.0
-
Verify if ARF or WRF recording files are handled by the playerOpen a Webex recording file (.arf or .wrf extension) using the installed Webex Recording Player and observe if it loads without errors or warningsAffected if The player successfully opens recording files - the vulnerability exists in the file parsing logic
You are affected if Cisco Webex Network Recording Player (any version or version < 41.5), Cisco Webex Meetings Server 4.0, or Cisco Webex Teams 3.0.15485.0 is installed and can open ARF/WRF recording files.
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 data41.5
Apply available security updates from Cisco for affected Webex Player versions; enforce user awareness about not opening untrusted recording files from unverified sources.
Fix this in Webex Meetings Desktop
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $4,480.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1502 — 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-2021-1502 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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