CVE-2021-37166
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 leading to denial of service 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 HMI3 starts up, it binds a local service to a TCP port on all interfaces of the device, and takes extensive time for the GUI to connect to the TCP socket, allowing the connection to be hijacked by an external attacker.
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 · moderate confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability in HMI3 Control Panel in Swisslog Healthcare Nexus Panel allows remote attackers to cause denial of service. The HMI3 service binds to a TCP port on all network interfaces (0.0.0.0) instead of localhost only, and the extended time for the GUI to connect creates a window for connection hijacking by external attackers.
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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Check HMI3 firmware versionAccess the HMI3 Control Panel web interface or check the firmware version through the admin console. Look for a version display in the system information or about section.Affected if The firmware version is displayed as lower than 7.2.5.7 (e.g., 7.2.5.6, 7.2.4.x, etc.)
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Identify HMI3 TCP port bindingRun 'netstat -an' or 'ss -tlnp' on the device hosting the HMI3 Control Panel. Look for the HMI3 service listening on 0.0.0.0 rather than 127.0.0.1 or localhost.Affected if The HMI3 service is listening on 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces) instead of 127.0.0.1 (localhost only)
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Verify network exposure of HMI3 portCheck firewall rules or network configuration to determine if the HMI3 TCP port is accessible from external networks. Use 'iptables -L' or check network segmentation configurations.Affected if The HMI3 port is reachable from untrusted network segments or the internet
You are affected if the HMI3 firmware version is below 7.2.5.7 AND the service is bound to 0.0.0.0 with exposure to untrusted networks.
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.
From vendor data7.2.5.7
Update to Nexus Software 7.2.5.7 or later to patch the buffer overflow vulnerability. Additionally, network segmentation should be implemented to restrict access to the HMI3 control panel interface from untrusted networks.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37166 — 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-2021-37166 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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