Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw affects the management interface of several Cisco Small Business RV routers. An attacker who already has valid administrator credentials could remotely run code as root or crash the device. Cisco’s advisory says no software updates were released for these vulnerabilities, so exposed or still-deployed devices need compensating controls and vendor-guided decisions.
Executive priority
Prioritize identifying and isolating affected routers, especially at small sites or edge locations. The privilege requirement lowers broad internet-worm risk, but root execution on network edge equipment and the absence of listed software updates make unmanaged exposure unacceptable.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1177 covers multiple input-validation flaws in the web-based management interface of Cisco RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W routers. Crafted HTTP requests from an authenticated administrator can lead to arbitrary code execution as root or device reload denial of service. CVSS v3.1 is 7.2 high, with network attack vector and high privileges required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where affected Cisco Small Business RV routers remain deployed and their web management interface is reachable. Risk depends heavily on administrator credential compromise or misuse, because exploitation requires valid admin credentials. Internet-reachable management interfaces increase business urgency.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The attack path is authenticated and remote through crafted HTTP requests to the management interface. Successful exploitation could provide root-level code execution or cause a router reload, disrupting availability.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports high-impact authenticated RCE and DoS through the web management interface, tied to improper input validation and CWE-121. Do not assume unauthenticated exploitation or active exploitation from the provided bundle. Cisco is the authoritative source for affected models and update status.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco’s advisory and current vendor guidance for supported options.
- Inventory RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W deployments.
- Restrict management interfaces to trusted networks and administrators only.
- Audit and rotate administrator credentials for affected devices.
- Plan replacement or compensating controls where no fixed firmware is available.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether affected Cisco RV models are present in the environment.
- Verify the web management interface is not exposed to untrusted networks.
- Review administrator accounts for shared, stale, or weak credentials.
- Check logs for unexpected management access or device reloads.
- Document any devices without available vendor software updates.
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-2021-1177 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.