Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cisco DCNM has a high-severity flaw that could let a remote attacker trick an authenticated DCNM user into enabling unauthorized Device Manager access. That matters because Device Manager provides access to network devices managed by the system.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority for environments using Cisco DCNM because compromise could affect network management access. Prioritize version verification, vendor-guided remediation, and administrative access restrictions.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1272 is a CWE-918 server-side request forgery issue in Cisco DCNM session validation. It stems from insufficient parameter validation in a specific HTTP request. CVSS 3.1 is 8.8: network exploitable, low complexity, no attacker privileges, but user interaction is required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations running Cisco Data Center Network Manager. The supplied bundle does not identify affected versions, so teams must compare their installed DCNM releases against Cisco’s advisory.
Exploitation context
The sources describe a crafted HTTP request sent to an authenticated DCNM web application user. The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or other evidence of active exploitation, so active exploitation should not be assumed.
Researcher notes
The bundle gives strong impact and CVSS detail but lacks affected-version and fixed-version specifics. User interaction is required, and exploitability centers on SSRF plus access-control bypass into Device Manager.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco’s advisory for affected and fixed DCNM releases.
- Apply Cisco-provided updates where the advisory confirms applicability.
- Restrict DCNM web access to trusted admin networks or VPN.
- Limit DCNM and Device Manager access to required administrators.
- Monitor DCNM web and Device Manager activity for anomalies.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all Cisco DCNM deployments and installed versions.
- Confirm whether DCNM web access is reachable from untrusted networks.
- Compare installed versions with Cisco’s advisory guidance.
- Review DCNM logs for unusual session or Device Manager requests.
- Verify administrative access controls around managed network devices.
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-918: Information exposure and cloud metadata lookup
Information exposure and SSRF weaknesses can make discovery, cloud metadata, and credential material review relevant. 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 lookupCloud metadata behavior lookup
The CVE wording references SSRF or metadata access, so cloud discovery and credential material review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-1272 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
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20210120 Cisco Data Center Network Manager Server-Side Request Forgery VulnerabilityCVE 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.
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.