CVE-2021-37163
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 · uneditedAn insecure permissions issue was discovered in HMI3 Control Panel in Swisslog Healthcare Nexus operated by released versions of software before Nexus Software 7.2.5.7. The device has two user accounts with passwords that are hardcoded.
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 confidenceThe HMI3 Control Panel in Swisslog Healthcare Nexus software versions prior to 7.2.5.7 contains insecure permissions and two hardcoded user account credentials. An attacker with network access to the HMI panel can authenticate using these hardcoded credentials to gain unauthorized access to the healthcare device control 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< 7.2.5.7CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the HMI3 Control Panel installationLocate Swisslog Healthcare HMI3 Control Panel in your environment - check network inventory, device lists, or physical inspection of healthcare control systemsAffected if The Swisslog Healthcare HMI3 Control Panel is present in your environment
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Check the firmware versionAccess the HMI panel system information or firmware version display (typically found in the panel's About/System settings) and compare the version number to 7.2.5.7Affected if The installed firmware version is lower than 7.2.5.7 (for example, 7.2.5.6, 7.2.4.x, or earlier)
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Verify network accessibility of the HMI panelDetermine if the HMI panel is reachable over the network from untrusted segments - check firewall rules, network ACLs, and whether the panel is exposed to the internet or guest networksAffected if The HMI panel is accessible from networks outside your trusted internal network
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Audit user accounts on the HMI panelReview the user account list in the HMI panel administration interface and look for any undocumented or default-appearing accounts beyond normal administrative usersAffected if Unknown or undocumented accounts exist, or if default credentials from documentation are still active
You are affected if the Swisslog Healthcare HMI3 Control Panel firmware version is below 7.2.5.7 and the panel is network-accessible, as this allows attackers to use hardcoded credentials for unauthorized access.
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.
dbcve · scoped7.2.5.7
Upgrade to Nexus Software 7.2.5.7 or later which removes the hardcoded passwords and fixes the permission issue. Immediately change any default credentials if they persist after upgrade and ensure the HMI panel is not exposed to untrusted networks.
Nexus Software 7.2.5.7
- Upgrade the HMI3 Control Panel firmware to Nexus Software version 7.2.5.7 or later to remediate the hardcoded credentials vulnerability
- After upgrading, verify that the default hardcoded user accounts have been removed or their passwords have been changed to unique, strong credentials
- Confirm the upgrade was successful and test that normal operations function correctly
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37163 — 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-2021-37163 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data