Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This affects older Cisco Small Business RV routers. If an attacker already has administrator credentials, they may be able to run code as root or crash the device through the web management interface. Cisco did not release software updates for the issue in the provided advisory.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority where affected routers remain deployed, especially at branch, small office, or remote-access edges. The absence of Cisco software updates shifts the decision toward exposure reduction, credential control, and planned replacement.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1179 covers improper validation of user input in the web-based management interface of RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W routers. Crafted HTTP requests by an authenticated remote administrator can trigger arbitrary code execution as root or device reload. CVSS v3.1 is 7.2.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Cisco Small Business RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W routers. Risk is highest where the management interface is reachable from broad networks or the internet, and where administrator credentials may be shared, weak, reused, or compromised.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or other cited evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires valid administrator credentials, but successful exploitation can provide root-level execution or denial of service, making credential compromise especially serious.
Researcher notes
The advisory attributes the issue to improper validation in the management interface and lists CWE-121. The bundle gives no exploit proof, patch, workaround details, or affected firmware versions beyond the product family, so validation should stay focused on model presence, interface reachability, and admin credential risk.
Mitigation direction
- Check Cisco advisory for any updated vendor guidance.
- Identify and prioritize replacement of affected routers without fixes.
- Restrict management interface access to trusted admin networks only.
- Review and harden administrator credential practices.
- Monitor for unexpected router reloads or suspicious admin activity.
Validation and detection
- Inventory environments for RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W routers.
- Confirm firmware and model against Cisco advisory scope.
- Verify whether web management is reachable from untrusted networks.
- Review admin account ownership and recent credential changes.
- Check logs for unexpected management requests or device reloads.
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-2021-1179 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.
