CVE-2021-37164
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 · uneditedA buffer overflow issue was discovered in HMI3 Control Panel in Swisslog Healthcare Nexus Panel operated by released versions of software before Nexus Software 7.2.5.7. In the tcpTxThread function, the received data is copied to a stack buffer. An off-by-3 condition can occur, resulting in a stack-based buffer overflow.
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 confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the HMI3 Control Panel of Swisslog Healthcare's Nexus Panel software. The issue is in the tcpTxThread function where received data is copied to a stack buffer without proper bounds checking, allowing an off-by-3 condition that can overwrite adjacent memory on the stack.
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 firmware versionAccess the HMI3 Control Panel web interface or admin diagnostic page and locate the firmware or software version information, typically found under System Info, About, or Diagnostics sectionsAffected if The displayed 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 the running software is Nexus PanelConfirm that the affected device is running Swisslog Healthcare Nexus Panel software, as indicated in the HMI interface or device documentationAffected if The device runs Nexus Panel software from Swisslog Healthcare
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Check for network accessibility of the HMI panelDetermine if the HMI3 Control Panel is exposed to network access, particularly untrusted networks, by reviewing firewall rules, VLAN configurations, or network segmentation policiesAffected if The panel is reachable from networks where untrusted parties could send traffic to it (the vulnerability is exploitable via received data on the network)
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Review system logs for exploitation indicatorsExamine the HMI panel system logs or network logs for unexpected behavior, crashes, or suspicious network activity targeting the tcpTxThread function or port 80/443Affected if Logs show unexpected restarts, errors related to data handling, or signs of attempted exploitation
The environment is affected if the Swisslog Healthcare HMI3 Control Panel runs Nexus Panel firmware version lower than 7.2.5.7 and is network-accessible to potential attackers.
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
Update Nexus Software to version 7.2.5.7 or later to obtain the patched version. Until patched, restrict network access to the affected panel and monitor for exploitation attempts.
Nexus Software 7.2.5.7
- Identify the current firmware version of the HMI3 Control Panel
- Contact Swisslog Healthcare to obtain the Nexus Software version 7.2.5.7 or later
- Follow Swisslog Healthcare's documented firmware upgrade procedure for the HMI3 Control Panel
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the firmware version
- Confirm the tcpTxThread function no longer exhibits the off-by-3 buffer overflow condition
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37164 — 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-2021-37164 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
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