Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cisco DNA Center’s web management interface could be abused through CSRF. If an authenticated administrator is tricked into opening a malicious link, actions may run without their consent, using that administrator’s privileges. Business risk centers on unauthorized network configuration changes and operational disruption.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for Cisco DNA Center operators because the product can affect network control. It is not shown as actively exploited in the provided evidence, but remediation should be scheduled promptly once exposure is confirmed.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1257 is a CWE-352 CSRF flaw in Cisco DNA Center Software’s web-based management interface. The source describes insufficient CSRF protections allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker to induce an authenticated user to perform arbitrary actions, including configuration changes, session disconnection, and Command Runner command execution. CVSS is 7.1 high.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to environments running Cisco DNA Center with users accessing the web management interface. The bundle does not identify affected versions or internet exposure requirements. Organizations should verify deployments and compare installed versions against Cisco guidance.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires user interaction: persuading an authenticated management user to follow a crafted link. The attacker needs no prior privileges, but impact depends on the victim user’s permissions.
Researcher notes
Evidence is enough to characterize vulnerability class, preconditions, and impact, but incomplete for exact affected versions and fixed releases. Do not assume exploit availability or active abuse from this bundle. Validation should focus on deployment presence, version status, access paths, and privileged action review.
Mitigation direction
- Check Cisco’s advisory for affected and fixed DNA Center releases.
- Upgrade or apply vendor-recommended remediation where Cisco confirms exposure.
- Restrict access to the DNA Center management interface to trusted networks.
- Reduce administrator browsing risk while authenticated to management interfaces.
- Review administrator privilege levels and remove unnecessary elevated access.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco DNA Center instances and record installed software versions.
- Compare versions against the Cisco advisory and vendor remediation status.
- Confirm management interface access is restricted to approved administrative paths.
- Review recent configuration changes for unexpected or unauthorized activity.
- Review Command Runner activity for actions not tied to approved work.
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-352: 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 lookupCVE-2021-1257 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
- 7.1 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L
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:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L2.84.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.1HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20210120 Cisco DNA Center Cross-Site Request Forgery VulnerabilityCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_CISCO
- https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10382CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
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.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.