Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Some Cisco Small Business RV routers have management-interface flaws that let a logged-in administrator-level attacker run code as root or crash the device. Cisco says no software updates were released for these vulnerabilities, so exposed administrative access should be treated as a business risk.
Executive priority
Prioritize this for sites that still depend on these routers for perimeter or branch connectivity. The need for admin credentials lowers likelihood, but root-level impact and lack of Cisco software updates increase operational urgency.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1186 covers improper input validation 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 a reload causing denial of service. CVSS v3.1 is 7.2.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations still operating the named Cisco Small Business RV routers, especially where the web management interface is reachable by untrusted networks or administrator credentials are weak, shared, or compromised.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires valid administrator credentials, but successful exploitation can fully compromise the router or disrupt network availability.
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. Do not assume unauthenticated exploitation. The public evidence provided names no patch and no active exploitation signal, so validation should focus on asset presence and management-plane exposure.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco’s advisory for current vendor guidance and device status.
- Restrict management interface access to trusted administrative networks only.
- Audit and rotate router administrator credentials.
- Remove unnecessary remote management exposure.
- Evaluate replacement or decommissioning where no fixed software is available.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco RV110W, RV130, RV130W, and RV215W routers.
- Confirm whether each device exposes the web management interface remotely.
- Verify administrator accounts, password hygiene, and access paths.
- Check whether devices match the Cisco advisory’s affected product list.
- Document compensating controls or replacement decisions for each 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-2021-1186 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.
