CVE-2021-42786
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 · uneditedIt was discovered that the SteelCentral AppInternals Dynamic Sampling Agent (DSA) has Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities in multiple instances of the API requests. The affected endpoints do not have any input validation of the user's input that allowed a malicious payload to be injected.
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 confidenceSteelCentral AppInternals Dynamic Sampling Agent (DSA) contains multiple Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities in its API endpoints. The affected API requests lack proper input validation, allowing attackers to inject malicious payloads that execute arbitrary code on the target system.
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>= 11.0.0, < 11.8.8>= 12.0.0, < 12.13.0= 10.0.0CVSS 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 DSA versionLocate the Riverbed SteelCentral AppInternals Dynamic Sampling Agent installation and retrieve its version information, typically via the agent's binary, service properties, or product documentation command (e.g., 'dsa --version' or checking the installation directory for version files)Affected if The installed version falls within 10.0.0, or >= 11.0.0 and < 11.8.8, or >= 12.0.0 and < 12.13.0
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Verify DSA API service is runningCheck if the DSA API service process is active on the system (look for processes named 'dsa', 'AppInternals DSA', or similar Riverbed DSA processes)Affected if The DSA API service is running and accepting connections, making the vulnerable endpoints accessible
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Confirm API endpoint exposureInspect network configuration to determine if DSA API ports (commonly 8080, 8443, or custom-configured ports) are bound to network interfaces accessible from untrusted sourcesAffected if The DSA API endpoints are reachable over the network without proper access controls
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Review API configurationExamine DSA configuration files for API settings, looking for exposed API endpoint definitions and any authentication or access control configurationsAffected if API endpoints are enabled without adequate input validation or authentication controls
The environment is affected if the installed DSA version is 10.0.0, between 11.0.0-11.8.8, or between 12.0.0-12.13.0 AND the DSA API service is running and accessible, allowing potential remote attackers to inject malicious code through unprotected API endpoints.
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 · scoped11.8.812.13.0
Implement strict input validation and sanitization on all DSA API endpoints to prevent code injection. Consider restricting network access to the DSA service until vendor patches are applied.
Upgrade to 11.8.8 or higher in the 11.x branch, or 12.13.0 or higher in the 12.x branch
- 1. Identify the currently installed SteelCentral AppInternals Dynamic Sampling Agent version
- 2. For version 10.0.0: Upgrade to version 11.8.8 or later (or 12.13.0 or later)
- 3. For versions 11.0.0-11.8.7: Upgrade to version 11.8.8 or later
- 4. For versions 12.0.0-12.12.x: Upgrade to version 12.13.0 or later
- 5. Verify the upgrade was successful and the DSA service is running
- 6. Test that legitimate API functionality still works after the upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-42786 — 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-2021-42786 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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