Webex Meetings ServerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2021-1503
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. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of values in Webex recording files that are in either Advanced Recording Format (ARF) or Webex Recording Format (WRF). An attacker could exploit this 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 with the affected software on the local system. 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 confidenceInsufficient validation of values in Webex recording files (ARF/WRF format) in Cisco Webex Network Recording Player and Cisco Webex Player allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious recording file sent via link or email attachment.
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 ServerApplication
= 4.0
Webex PlayerApplication
< 41.2CVSS 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.
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Identify installed Webex player softwareCheck installed programs for Cisco Webex Network Recording Player or Cisco Webex Player on the systemAffected if Either application is present on the system
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Determine Webex Player versionOpen Webex Player, go to Help > About, or check the application's properties in Add/Remove Programs to find the exact version numberAffected if Version is lower than 41.2 (for example 41.1, 41.0, 40.x, etc.)
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Check Cisco Webex Meetings Server versionIf Webex Meetings Server is deployed, access the admin interface or check system information to confirm the installed versionAffected if Version equals exactly 4.0
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Verify ARF/WRF file handling is enabledConfirm that the system has file associations configured for .arf and .wrf extensions with Webex Player as the handlerAffected if The player can open recording files and is the default handler for these file types
The environment is affected if Cisco Webex Player below version 41.2 or Cisco Webex Meetings Server version 4.0 is installed, and the player is configured to handle 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 data41.2
Apply vendor patches from Cisco for Webex Network Recording Player and Webex Player. Avoid opening untrusted ARF or WRF files from unknown sources.
Fix this in Webex Meetings Server
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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 $4,304.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1503 — 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-2021-1503 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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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