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Metamako Operating SystemOperating system · Arista

CVE-2021-28498

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.26.7 / 0.32.0 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
In Arista's MOS (Metamako Operating System) software which is supported on the 7130 product line, user enable passwords set in clear text could result in unprivileged users getting complete access to the systems. This issue affects: Arista Metamako Operating System MOS-0.13 and post releases in the MOS-0.1x train MOS-0.26.6 and prior releases in the MOS-0.2x train MOS-0.31.1 and prior releases in the MOS-0.3x train

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

Arista MOS stores enable passwords in clear text rather than using proper cryptographic hashing. This allows any unprivileged user with system access to read these plaintext passwords and gain complete administrative access through privilege escalation.

MitigationImplement cryptographic password hashing (e.g., bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2) for enable passwords and migrate existing passwords to the secure format. Restrict filesystem access to password storage locations.

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
Metamako Operating SystemOperating system
Affected:>= 0.10.0, <= 0.13.0>= 0.26.0, < 0.26.7>= 0.31.0, < 0.32.0

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check Arista MOS version
    Run 'show version' or access the system management interface to determine the installed Metamako Operating System version number
    Affected if Version is >= 0.10.0 and <= 0.13.0, OR >= 0.26.0 and < 0.26.7, OR >= 0.31.0 and < 0.32.0
  2. Verify enable password configuration
    Check if enable passwords are configured on the system using 'show running-config' or reviewing the active configuration file for 'enable password' or similar entries
    Affected if Enable passwords are configured in the system configuration
  3. Inspect password storage format
    Examine the configuration files or password storage location where enable passwords are stored; determine whether passwords appear as plaintext strings or as hashed/encrypted values
    Affected if Enable passwords are stored in plaintext (readable text) rather than in a hashed format such as bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2
  4. Check filesystem access to password storage
    Review file permissions on configuration directories to determine if unprivileged users have read access to files containing enable passwords
    Affected if Configuration files with enable passwords are readable by non-privileged users

The system is affected if it runs a vulnerable MOS version (0.10.0-0.13.0, 0.26.0-0.26.6, or 0.31.0-0.31.x) and stores enable passwords in cleartext format accessible to unprivileged users.

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 0.26.7 / 0.32.0 or later
Fixed in 0.26.70.32.0
Interim mitigation

Implement cryptographic password hashing (e.g., bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2) for enable passwords and migrate existing passwords to the secure format. Restrict filesystem access to password storage locations.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

MOS-0.26.7+ or MOS-0.32.0+ depending on current train

  1. Identify the current MOS version using 'show version' command
  2. For MOS-0.1x train (0.10.0-0.13.0): Upgrade to a newer release train (0.26.7+ or 0.32.0+)
  3. For MOS-0.2x train (0.26.0-0.26.6): Upgrade to MOS-0.26.7 or later
  4. For MOS-0.3x train (0.31.0-0.31.1): Upgrade to MOS-0.32.0 or later
  5. After upgrade, reconfigure enable passwords using secure hashing rather than clear text
Caveat May require configuration changes if migrating between major train versions; verify compatibility with 7130 product line

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

Fix this in Metamako Operating System Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation20.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,380
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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-2021-28498 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