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CVE Record

CVE-2021-1254: Cisco Finesse Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerabilities

Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco Finesse could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against a user of the interface. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input by the web-based management interface of the affected software. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by injecting malicious code into the web-based management interface and persuading a user to click a malicious link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary script code in the context of the affected interface or access sensitive, browser-based information. An attacker needs valid administrator credentials to inject the malicious script code.

MediumCVSS 4.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-1254 is an authenticated XSS issue in Cisco Finesse’s web-based management interface. An attacker with valid administrator credentials could place script content and persuade another interface user to click a malicious link, potentially exposing browser-based data or changing what the victim sees in the interface.

Executive priority

Treat this as a moderate, admin-path risk. It is unlikely to be a mass internet worm scenario based on the provided evidence, but it can amplify damage after administrator credential compromise in contact center environments.

Technical view

The flaw is CWE-79 input validation failure in Cisco Finesse’s web management UI, associated with Cisco Unified Contact Center Express. CVSS 3.1 is 4.8: network reachable, low complexity, high privileges required, user interaction required, changed scope, low confidentiality and integrity impact, no availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant to organizations running Cisco Unified Contact Center Express with Cisco Finesse administration enabled. The attacker must already hold valid administrator credentials, so risk concentrates around compromised admin accounts, shared admin access, and management interfaces reachable by more users than necessary.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires an authenticated administrator to inject malicious script and a user to interact with a malicious link. That limits broad opportunistic exploitation but still matters in environments where admin credentials are compromised.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Cisco advisory reference. The source bundle does not provide affected version ranges, patch identifiers, or workaround details, so validation should be anchored in Cisco’s advisory rather than inferred fixes.

Mitigation direction

  • Review Cisco’s advisory for affected releases, fixed software, and any official workarounds.
  • Inventory Cisco Unified Contact Center Express and Finesse management interface deployments.
  • Restrict management interface access to trusted administrative networks and users.
  • Audit administrator accounts for least privilege, shared use, and stale access.
  • Prioritize credential hygiene and phishing controls for administrators.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether Cisco Unified Contact Center Express with Finesse is deployed.
  • Compare deployed versions and configurations against Cisco’s advisory.
  • Verify only authorized administrators can access the management interface.
  • Review recent admin activity for unexpected content changes or suspicious links.
  • Check security monitoring for browser-side script alerts tied to Finesse sessions.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
3

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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 · medium confidence lookup

CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup

Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. 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 lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-1254 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Official CVE source material

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.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
4.8CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N1.72.7Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

4.8Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-1254Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
CiscoCisco Unified Contact Center Expressn/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-79 · source CWE mapping

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.