Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2021-1528
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 CLI of Cisco SD-WAN Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to gain elevated privileges on an affected system. This vulnerability exists because the affected software does not properly restrict access to privileged processes. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by invoking a privileged process in the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform actions with the privileges of the root 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 privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Cisco SD-WAN Software CLI where the software does not properly restrict access to privileged processes. An authenticated local attacker can invoke a privileged process to gain root user privileges on the affected system.
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
Catalyst Sd Wan ManagerApplication
>= 20.4, < 20.4.2>= 20.5, < 20.5.1
Sd Wan Vbond OrchestratorApplication
>= 20.4, < 20.4.2>= 20.5, < 20.5.1
Vsmart ControllerApplication
>= 20.4, < 20.4.2>= 20.5, < 20.5.1
Vedge 100 FirmwareOperating system
>= 20.4, < 20.4.2>= 20.5, < 20.5.1
Vedge 1000 FirmwareOperating system
>= 20.4, < 20.4.2>= 20.5, < 20.5.1
Vedge 100b FirmwareOperating system
>= 20.4, < 20.4.2>= 20.5, < 20.5.1
Vedge 100m FirmwareOperating system
>= 20.4, < 20.4.2>= 20.5, < 20.5.1
Vedge 100wm FirmwareOperating system
>= 20.4, < 20.4.2>= 20.5, < 20.5.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the product typeDetermine if the system is running Cisco SD-WAN Manager, vBond Orchestrator, vSmart Controller, or vEdge device by checking the system documentation or running 'show version' in the CLIAffected if The product is one of: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, Cisco SD-WAN vBond Orchestrator, Cisco vSmart Controller, or any vEdge model (100, 1000, 100b, 100m, 100wm)
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Check the installed software versionRun 'show version' in the CLI to obtain the running software versionAffected if The version is 20.4, 20.4.1, 20.5, or 20.5.0 (these fall within >= 20.4, < 20.4.2 or >= 20.5, < 20.5.1)
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Verify CLI access existsConfirm local CLI access is available to any user account on the affected systemAffected if An authenticated local attacker can access the CLI to invoke privileged processes
The system is affected if it is any Cisco SD-WAN product listed above and runs software version 20.4 through 20.4.1 or 20.5 through 20.5.0, with CLI access available to a local attacker.
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 data20.4.220.5.1
Apply the relevant Cisco SD-WAN software update/patch for CVE-2021-1528 to restrict access to privileged processes properly.
Fix this in Catalyst Sd Wan Manager
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 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 $3,728.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1528 — 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-2021-1528 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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- 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
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