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Small Business Rv Series Router FirmwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2021-1602

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.01.04 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 web-based management interface of Cisco Small Business RV160, RV160W, RV260, RV260P, and RV260W VPN Routers could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient user input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the web-based management interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on an affected device using root-level privileges. Due to the nature of the vulnerability, only commands without parameters can be executed.

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

Unauthenticated command injection vulnerability in Cisco RV160/RV260 series VPN router web management interface. Attackers can send crafted HTTP requests to execute arbitrary OS commands with root privileges due to insufficient input validation. Only parameter-less commands can be executed.

MitigationApply Cisco's available firmware updates for affected RV160/RV260 series routers. If patching is not immediately possible, restrict web management interface access to trusted networks or disable remote management exposure to the internet.

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
Small Business Rv Series Router FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.01.04

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify device model
    Access the router's web interface or use CLI command 'show version' to confirm the device is a Cisco RV160 or RV260 series VPN router.
    Affected if Device model is RV160 or RV260 series.
  2. Check firmware version
    In the web interface, navigate to Administration > Firmware Upgrade or use CLI command 'show version' to display the firmware version. Compare against 1.0.01.04.
    Affected if Firmware version is lower than 1.0.01.04.
  3. Verify web management interface status
    In the web interface, go to Administration > Management > HTTP/HTTPS settings to confirm the web management interface is enabled.
    Affected if HTTP or HTTPS management is enabled on the device.
  4. Check management access exposure
    In the web interface, navigate to Administration > Management > Management Access to determine if remote management is allowed and from which IP sources.
    Affected if Web management is accessible from untrusted networks or the internet.

The device is affected if it is an RV160 or RV260 series router running firmware below 1.0.01.04 with its web management interface enabled and accessible, especially from untrusted networks.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.0.01.04 or later
Fixed in 1.0.01.04
Interim mitigation

Apply Cisco's available firmware updates for affected RV160/RV260 series routers. If patching is not immediately possible, restrict web management interface access to trusted networks or disable remote management exposure to the internet.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cisco Small Business RV Series Router Firmware 1.0.01.04 or later

  1. 1. Identify the exact router model (RV160, RV160W, RV260, RV260P, or RV260W) from the device label
  2. 2. Access the Cisco software download page at tools.cisco.com and locate the firmware download section for your specific model
  3. 3. Download firmware version 1.0.01.04 or later (the fixed release)
  4. 4. Log into the router's web-based management interface using admin credentials
  5. 5. Navigate to the Administration > Firmware Upgrade (or similar) section
  6. 6. Upload the downloaded firmware file and initiate the upgrade
  7. 7. Wait for the firmware to upload and install - do not power off the device during this process
  8. 8. After the router reboots, verify the firmware version in the web interface to confirm the update was successful
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for any configuration changes required after upgrading; backup router configuration before performing firmware upgrade

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Small Business Rv Series Router Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-1602 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