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Improper Input ValidationWeakness · CWE-20

CVE-2021-34752

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 CLI of Cisco FTD Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with administrative privileges to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the underlying operating system of an affected device.  This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied command arguments. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting crafted input to the affected commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands with root privileges on the underlying operating system. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

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

A command injection vulnerability in Cisco FTD CLI allows an authenticated attacker with administrative privileges to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the underlying Linux OS. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied arguments in affected CLI commands.

MitigationApply the Cisco software updates for FTD that address this vulnerability; no workarounds are available.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify if the device is running Cisco FTD
    Execute 'show version' or 'show inventory' in the FTD CLI (via SSH or console) and look for 'Firepower' or 'FTD' in the output
    Affected if The device is not Cisco FTD (for example, it's ASA, IOS, or a different product)
  2. Verify CLI administrative access is configured
    Check for configured admin users by examining 'show run' output for user accounts with privilege level 15 or administrative role in FTD CLI
    Affected if CLI access is disabled or no administrative users exist on the system
  3. Confirm root-level command execution capability exists
    Attempt to enter privileged EXEC mode with 'enable' command or verify current privilege level; affected vulnerability requires ability to execute commands at root privilege
    Affected if User does not have administrative/root privileges in the FTD CLI

The system is affected if it is running Cisco FTD with a version in the affected range and has CLI administrative users configured with root execution capability.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Cisco software updates for FTD that address this vulnerability; no workarounds are available.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,400
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,840.

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-2021-34752 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