Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cisco small-business RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W routers have management-interface flaws that can let an authenticated remote administrator run code as root or crash the device. Cisco did not release software updates for these vulnerabilities, so organizations should treat affected devices as legacy risk requiring strict access control or replacement planning.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority legacy network-edge issue if these routers remain in service. The required admin credentials reduce broad opportunistic risk, but root-level impact, denial-of-service potential, and lack of Cisco software updates make replacement or strict isolation important.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1163 covers improper validation of user input in the routers' web-based management interface. A remote attacker with valid administrator credentials can send crafted HTTP requests, potentially causing root-level arbitrary code execution or device reload. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.2, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where affected Cisco RV-series routers are still deployed and their web management interface is reachable by administrators over a network. Risk rises if administrator credentials are shared, weak, reused, or exposed. The bundle does not provide affected firmware ranges beyond the named router families.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV in the bundle. Exploitation requires valid administrator credentials, but successful exploitation can reach root-level execution or denial of service. The absence of vendor updates increases operational concern for still-deployed devices.
Researcher notes
Focus validation on model presence, management-plane reachability, administrator credential exposure, and operational dependencies. The bundle does not provide exploit proof, affected firmware granularity, or a vendor patch. Avoid assuming broader Cisco RV products are affected unless Cisco guidance confirms them.
Mitigation direction
- Check Cisco guidance for affected-device handling and workaround status.
- Identify and prioritize replacement of affected routers where feasible.
- Restrict management interface access to trusted administrative networks only.
- Audit administrator accounts and rotate credentials where exposure is plausible.
- Monitor management access logs and unexpected device reloads.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W devices.
- Confirm whether web-based management is reachable from untrusted networks.
- Review administrator account ownership, strength, and recent use.
- Check whether any affected devices remain in production roles.
- Document compensating controls or replacement timelines for each affected device.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-121: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-1163 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.2 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.25.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.2HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20210113 Cisco Small Business RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W Routers Management Interface Remote Command Execution and Denial of Service VulnerabilitiesCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_CISCO
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Stack-based Buffer Overflow
Stack-based Buffer Overflow represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.