CVE-2021-37165
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. When a message is sent to the HMI TCP socket, it is forwarded to the hmiProcessMsg function through the pendingQ, and may lead to remote code execution.
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 buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the HMI3 Control Panel of Swisslog Healthcare Nexus Panel software versions prior to 7.2.5.7. When a message is sent to the HMI TCP socket, it is forwarded through a pending queue to the hmiProcessMsg function without proper bounds checking, allowing an attacker to overflow the buffer and achieve remote code execution.
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 installed HMI3 Control Panel firmware versionAccess the Swisslog Healthcare Nexus Panel HMI interface and navigate to System Information or About section to view the firmware version. Alternatively, check the firmware file metadata if you have access to the system filesystem or management interface.Affected if The displayed version is lower than 7.2.5.7 (e.g., 7.2.x, 7.1.x, etc.)
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Verify HMI TCP socket service is runningOn the Nexus Panel system, check if the HMI service is listening on TCP ports. Use commands like 'netstat -an' or 'ss -tlnp' to list active listening sockets, specifically looking for the HMI service port (typically port 8080 or as configured in your environment).Affected if The HMI TCP socket service is actively listening and accepting connections.
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Assess network exposure of the HMI interfaceReview firewall rules, network segmentation, and access control lists to determine if the HMI management interface or its TCP socket is accessible from untrusted networks. Check if the HMI port is exposed to the internet or accessible from guest/less-trusted network segments.Affected if The HMI TCP socket is accessible from network segments outside the trusted zone (e.g., directly from the internet or from DMZ/guest networks).
You are affected if your Swisslog Healthcare HMI3 Control Panel firmware version is below 7.2.5.7 AND the HMI TCP socket is network-accessible to untrusted sources.
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 Nexus Software to version 7.2.5.7 or later to patch the vulnerability. As an interim control, isolate the HMI system behind a firewall and restrict network access to trusted sources only.
Nexus Software 7.2.5.7
- Verify current firmware version on the HMI3 Control Panel by accessing the admin interface or checking system information
- Download the Nexus Software 7.2.5.7 (or latest available version) from the official Swisslog Healthcare support portal
- Review upgrade documentation and ensure proper backups of current configuration are created
- Schedule maintenance window as upgrade may require system restart
- Upload and apply the firmware update through the control panel's administrative interface
- Verify successful installation by confirming new version number in system information
- Test critical functionality including HMI TCP socket communications to confirm proper operation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation12.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37165 — 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-2021-37165 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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