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Command Center AgentApplication · Ncr

CVE-2021-3122

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-02-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS 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
CMCAgent in NCR Command Center Agent 16.3 on Aloha POS/BOH servers permits the submission of a runCommand parameter (within an XML document sent to port 8089) that enables the remote, unauthenticated execution of an arbitrary command as SYSTEM, as exploited in the wild in 2020 and/or 2021. NOTE: the vendor's position is that exploitation occurs only on devices with a certain "misconfiguration."

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

CMCAgent in NCR Command Center Agent 16.3 on Aloha POS/BOH servers accepts XML documents sent to port 8089 containing a runCommand parameter, enabling unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands with SYSTEM privileges.

MitigationRestrict network access to port 8089 to prevent external exposure, apply vendor patches if available, and remediate the identified misconfiguration per vendor guidance.

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
Command Center AgentApplication
Affected:= 16.3

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. Verify NCR Command Center Agent version
    Check the installed version of NCR Command Center Agent on the system. This can typically be found in installed programs list, or by querying the agent service version information if available via command line or registry.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 16.3 (the affected version)
  2. Confirm CMCAgent service is running
    Check if the CMCAgent service (NCR Command Center Agent service) is running on the system. Use Windows Service Manager or command 'sc query CMCAgent' to verify the service status.
    Affected if The CMCAgent service is installed and running
  3. Verify port 8089 is listening
    Check if port 8089 is open and listening on the affected server. Use command 'netstat -an | findstr :8089' or 'Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 8089' to enumerate listening ports.
    Affected if Port 8089 is listening and accepting connections
  4. Confirm XML interface accessibility
    Verify that the CMCAgent XML interface on port 8089 is reachable from network locations that should not have access. This confirms the attack surface is exposed.
    Affected if Port 8089 is accessible from network (not restricted to localhost or trusted management interfaces)

A system is affected if it runs NCR Command Center Agent version 16.3 with the CMCAgent service active and port 8089 exposed on the network.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Restrict network access to port 8089 to prevent external exposure, apply vendor patches if available, and remediate the identified misconfiguration per vendor guidance.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Contact NCR for the latest supported version of Command Center Agent; version 16.3 is the only version explicitly listed as affected, but NCR may have subsequent secure releases

  1. Identify all Aloha POS/BOH servers running NCR Command Center Agent version 16.3
  2. Review and restrict network access to port 8089 (CMCAgent listener)
  3. If the CMCAgent service is not actively required for business operations, disable or uninstall it
  4. If the service is required, implement network segmentation to limit access to port 8089 to only authorized management stations
  5. Apply the principle of least privilege - ensure the service runs with minimal required permissions, not as SYSTEM if possible
  6. Monitor for any unauthorized XML submissions to port 8089
  7. Contact NCR directly to request a formal patch or security update for this vulnerability

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

Fix this in Command Center Agent Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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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-2021-3122 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