CVE-2021-40870
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 issue was discovered in Aviatrix Controller 6.x before 6.5-1804.1922. Unrestricted upload of a file with a dangerous type is possible, which allows an unauthenticated user to execute arbitrary code via directory traversal.
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 confidenceAviatrix Controller versions 6.x before 6.5-1804.1922 contains an unrestricted file upload vulnerability allowing unauthenticated attackers to upload files with dangerous types. Combined with directory traversal, attackers can place executable files in arbitrary locations 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>= 6.2, < 6.2.2043>= 6.3, < 6.3.2490>= 6.4, < 6.4.2838>= 6.5, < 6.5.1922CVSS 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 if Aviatrix Controller is presentCheck if the Aviatrix Controller service is running by reviewing running processes on the host, checking for the Aviatrix web interface on port 443/80, or querying the API endpoint at /v1/api for controller availabilityAffected if Aviatrix Controller is not running or not present in the environment
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Locate the Controller versionAccess the Aviatrix Controller web UI and navigate to Settings > Controller, or query the /v1/api?action=system_info endpoint to retrieve the installed software versionAffected if Unable to determine the version because the Controller is inaccessible or not found
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Compare installed version against affected rangesMatch the discovered version number to the vulnerable ranges: 6.2.x versions below 6.2.2043; 6.3.x versions below 6.3.2490; 6.4.x versions below 6.4.2838; 6.5.x versions below 6.5.1922Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 6.2 and < 6.2.2043, or >= 6.3 and < 6.3.2490, or >= 6.4 and < 6.4.2838, or >= 6.5 and < 6.5.1922
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Determine if management interface is network-accessibleReview firewall rules, security groups, or network ACLs to check whether the Controller HTTPS port (default 443) is exposed to untrusted networks or the public internetAffected if The Controller management interface is reachable from untrusted networks without authentication barriers
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Inspect for unauthorized file uploadsExamine the Controller filesystem for unexpected files in /var/www/html, /tmp, or other writable directories; review web server access logs for POST requests to upload endpoints that contain directory traversal sequences like '../'Affected if Suspicious files exist in web-accessible directories or logs show unusual upload attempts with path traversal patterns
The environment is affected if an Aviatrix Controller is running with a version that falls within any of the four vulnerable ranges and its management interface is network-accessible, allowing unauthenticated attackers to exploit the unrestricted file upload with directory traversal.
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 · scoped6.2.20436.3.24906.4.2838
Upgrade to Aviatrix Controller version 6.5-1804.1922 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the controller management interface and implement WAF rules to block suspicious file upload requests.
6.2.2043 (for 6.2.x), 6.3.2490 (for 6.3.x), 6.4.2838 (for 6.4.x), or 6.5.1922 (for 6.5.x)
- 1. Identify the current Aviatrix Controller version by logging into the Controller and checking the version number in the UI or via CLI
- 2. Determine which version branch your current installation is on (6.2.x, 6.3.x, 6.4.x, or 6.5.x)
- 3. For 6.2.x versions: upgrade to version 6.2.2043 or later
- 4. For 6.3.x versions: upgrade to version 6.3.2490 or later
- 5. For 6.4.x versions: upgrade to version 6.4.2838 or later
- 6. For 6.5.x versions: upgrade to version 6.5.1922 or later
- 7. Download the upgrade from Aviatrix official support portal and apply the upgrade following standard Aviatrix upgrade procedures
- 8. Verify the Controller is operational after upgrade and confirm the version has been updated
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40870 — 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-2021-40870 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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