Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
- EPSS is 0.31% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2021
CVE-2021-1441High confidence
Cisco IOS XE Software Hardware Initialization Routines Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability
Cisco · Cisco IOS XE Software
Official source article: Cisco CISCO-SA-IOS-XE-IOT-CODEXEC-K46EFF6Q ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.
6.7MediumCVSS 3.1
Scheduled
Fix not verifiedMedium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityMedium→Operational priority:Low, lowered one band.downgradedsince 8 Nov 2024
Compensating controls
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Cisco Cisco IOS XE Software and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
A vulnerability in the hardware initialization routines of Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco 1100 Series Industrial Integrated Services Routers and Cisco ESR6300 Embedded Series Routers could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute unsigned code at system boot time. This vulnerability is due to incorrect validations of parameters passed to a diagnostic script that is executed when the device boots up. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by tampering with an executable file stored on a device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute unsigned code at boot time and bypass the software image verification check part of the secure boot process of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need administrative level credentials (level 15) on the device.
What
A vulnerability in the hardware initialization routines of Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco 1100 Series Industrial Integrated Services Routers and Cisco ESR6300 Embedded Series Routers could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute unsigned code at system boot time. This vulnerability is due to incorrect validations of parameters passed to a diagnostic script that is executed when the device boots up. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by tampering with an executable file stored on a device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute unsigned code at boot time and bypass the software image verification check part of the secure boot process of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need administrative level credentials (level 15) on the device.
Why
Untrusted input is incorporated into an operating-system command without safe parameter handling.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
A vulnerability in the hardware initialization routines of Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco 1100 Series Industrial Integrated Services Routers and Cisco ESR6300 Embedded Series Routers could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute unsigned code at system boot time. This vulnerability is due to incorrect validations of parameters passed to a diagnostic script that is executed when the device boots up. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by tampering with an executable file stored on a device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute unsigned code at boot time and bypass the software image verification check part of the secure boot process of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need administrative level credentials (level 15) on the device.
Why
Untrusted input is incorporated into an operating-system command without safe parameter handling.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- local access → Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Local
- Privileges required
- High: elevated access is required
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-78 ↗
CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection'). The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRHighPrivileges required: The attacker needs elevated or administrative privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- Stolen credentials, tokens and legitimate administration functions may provide continued access without deploying a large custom toolset.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Fix not verified
- Affected
- Cisco IOS XE Software: n/a
- Fixed
- No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Action
- No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 24 Mar 2021 · Last source change 8 Nov 2024, 23:35 UTC · CWE-78 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-6908
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.