Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-1174 affects several Cisco Small Business RV routers. An attacker with valid administrator credentials could abuse the web management interface to run code as root or force the router to restart. Cisco reported no software updates for these vulnerabilities in the provided advisory.
Executive priority
Prioritize replacement or compensating controls for affected routers if they remain in production. The required admin credentials reduce likelihood, but root-level execution and router outages create meaningful business risk, especially for edge or branch connectivity.
Technical view
The issue is improper validation of user-supplied input in the web-based management interface of Cisco RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W routers. Crafted HTTP requests from an authenticated remote administrator can trigger arbitrary code execution as root or denial of service. CVSS 3.1 is 7.2 high, with high privileges required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations still operating the named Cisco Small Business RV router models, especially where the web management interface is reachable by administrators over a network. Exploitation requires valid administrator credentials, but successful exploitation can fully compromise the router or interrupt availability.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The attack path requires authenticated administrator access to the management interface and crafted HTTP requests. The impact is serious because successful code execution runs as root on the underlying operating system.
Researcher notes
The source bundle identifies CWE-121 and CVSS AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Affected version granularity is not provided beyond the named router families. No patch, exploit status, or detailed workaround is included in the supplied evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Identify any RV110W, RV130, RV130W, or RV215W routers in use.
- Review Cisco’s advisory for current vendor guidance and device status.
- Do not assume a patch exists; Cisco reported no software updates.
- Restrict management access to trusted administrators and trusted networks.
- Review administrator credential hygiene for affected devices.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether affected router models exist in asset inventory.
- Verify whether the web-based management interface is network reachable.
- Check administrative access paths and who holds valid admin credentials.
- Review available device logs for unexpected reloads or suspicious admin activity.
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-2021-1174 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.