Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This CVE affects older Cisco Small Business RV routers. An attacker with valid administrator credentials could abuse the web management interface to run code as root or force a reboot. Cisco states it has not released software updates for these vulnerabilities.
Executive priority
High priority for environments still using these routers, especially if management access is broadly reachable. The main business issue is root-level compromise or outages on edge network devices, with no vendor software update identified in the provided sources.
Technical view
Multiple web-based management interface flaws in Cisco RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W routers stem from improper validation of user-supplied input. Exploitation requires authenticated administrator access and network reachability to the interface. Impact includes root-level code execution or denial of service through device reload.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where the listed Cisco Small Business RV routers remain deployed and their web management interface is reachable by administrators or broader networks. Evidence does not identify other affected products.
Exploitation context
The provided sources describe authenticated remote exploitation requiring valid administrator credentials. The bundle marks KEV as false and provides no evidence of active exploitation. Do not treat this as exploited in the wild based only on these sources.
Researcher notes
The source bundle maps this to CWE-121 and CVSS 3.1 score 7.2 with PR:H. Cisco’s description references crafted HTTP requests but requires administrator credentials. Evidence is sufficient for exposure triage, but incomplete for exploit maturity and workaround specifics.
Mitigation direction
- Identify any RV110W, RV130, RV130W, or RV215W routers in use.
- Review Cisco advisory for current vendor guidance and workarounds.
- Do not assume a software patch exists; Cisco reported none released.
- Restrict administrator access to the management interface where operationally possible.
- Review administrator accounts and remove unnecessary privileged access.
- Plan replacement or compensating controls if affected devices remain required.
Validation and detection
- Confirm router model and firmware against the Cisco advisory.
- Verify whether web-based management is reachable from untrusted networks.
- Check that only required administrators have valid credentials.
- Review device logs for unexpected reloads or admin activity.
- Document any affected devices with owner, location, and replacement status.
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-2021-1171 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.
