CVE-2021-41503
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 · uneditedDCS-5000L v1.05 and DCS-932L v2.17 and older are affecged by Incorrect Acess Control. The use of the basic authentication for the devices command interface allows attack vectors that may compromise the cameras configuration and allow malicious users on the LAN to access the device. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer
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 confidenceThe DCS-5000L and DCS-932L IP cameras use basic authentication for their command interface, which transmits credentials in easily decodable base64 encoding. This allows any malicious user on the same LAN segment to intercept, decode, and reuse credentials to access the device configuration and camera functions. The vulnerability is exploitable from an adjacent network position (local subnet).
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<= 2.17= 1.05CVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/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 device modelLocate the physical device or access its web interface to confirm the model number is DCS-5000L or DCS-932L. The model is typically displayed on a label on the device or in the login/page header of the web UI.Affected if Device model is DCS-5000L or DCS-932L
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Check DCS-932L firmware versionIf the device is a DCS-932L, access the web interface and navigate to the Setup or System settings page to view the firmware version. Alternatively, inspect the HTTP response headers or the login page source for version information.Affected if Firmware version is 2.17 or lower on a DCS-932L
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Check DCS-5000L firmware versionIf the device is a DCS-5000L, access the web interface and locate the firmware version in the System or About section of the settings.Affected if Firmware version is exactly 1.05 on a DCS-5000L
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Confirm basic authentication is in useObserve the login process by capturing HTTP traffic or examining the login form. The vulnerability exists when the web interface uses HTTP Basic Authentication where credentials are transmitted as a base64-encoded string in the Authorization header.Affected if Basic authentication with base64 encoding is enabled (default and only authentication method on affected versions)
You are affected if you own a DCS-932L camera with firmware <= 2.17 or a DCS-5000L with firmware = 1.05, and basic authentication is in use (which is the default configuration).
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 · scopedSince these are end-of-life products no longer receiving patches, replace them with supported camera models. If immediate replacement is not feasible, isolate the devices on a dedicated VLAN with strict ACLs limiting management access to authorized management stations only, and disable any unnecessary remote access features.
- 1. Replace end-of-life devices (DCS-5000L v1.05 and DCS-932L v2.17) with currently supported camera models from D-Link or another vendor
- 2. If immediate replacement is not possible, isolate affected devices on a separate VLAN restricted from untrusted networks
- 3. Apply firewall rules to block all inbound access to camera management interfaces from untrusted networks
- 4. Disable remote viewing features if not required, or use a VPN solution for authorized remote access instead of port forwarding
- 5. If the devices must remain in service, implement strict network access control lists (ACLs) to limit management access to only authorized IP addresses or MAC addresses
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-41503 — 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-2021-41503 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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