CVE-2021-1558
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 · uneditedMultiple vulnerabilities in Cisco DNA Spaces Connector could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system as root. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient restrictions during the execution of affected CLI commands. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by leveraging the insufficient restrictions during execution of these commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges from dnasadmin and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system as root.
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 confidenceLocal privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco DNA Spaces Connector where insufficient restrictions on CLI command execution allow an authenticated attacker with dnasadmin privileges to execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying operating 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< 2.3.1CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 if Cisco DNA Spaces Connector is installedCheck system for Cisco DNA Spaces Connector installation - look for its service, process, or installation directoryAffected if The software is present on the system
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Determine installed version of Cisco DNA Spaces ConnectorUse system tools to query the installed version (package manager, software inventory, or version file if known)Affected if Version is lower than 2.3.1 (any version below the patched release)
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Verify if dnasadmin user account existsCheck system for dnasadmin user account - typical Linux methods include 'grep dnasadmin /etc/passwd' or 'id dnasadmin'Affected if The dnasadmin user exists and has access to the system
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Confirm dnasadmin has CLI accessAttempt to access the Cisco DNA Spaces Connector CLI interface using dnasadmin credentials, or review CLI access controls if accessibleAffected if Authenticated CLI access with dnasadmin privileges is possible
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Check for unexpected command execution behaviorCLI commands execute with root privileges or allow command injection
User is affected if Cisco DNA Spaces Connector version is below 2.3.1 AND the dnasadmin account exists with CLI access that permits privilege escalation to root.
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 data2.3.1
Apply Cisco vendor patch when available; until then, limit physical and local access to the system and monitor for suspicious activity from dnasadmin accounts.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $3,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1558 — 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-2021-1558 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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