Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cisco Small Business RV016, RV042, RV042G, RV082, RV320, and RV325 routers have authenticated command injection flaws in their web management interface. An attacker with valid administrator credentials could remotely run operating-system commands as root. This is high business risk where these routers expose management access or have weak, shared, or compromised admin credentials.
Executive priority
Prioritize this for any affected router that manages business connectivity or has remotely reachable administration. The flaw requires admin credentials, but the impact is full root compromise of the device. Address exposure and vendor guidance before routine maintenance windows if management access is internet-facing.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1315 covers multiple improper input-validation issues in Cisco Small Business RV Series router firmware management interfaces. Crafted HTTP requests from an authenticated remote administrator can lead to arbitrary command execution as root. CVSS 3.1 is 7.2, with network access, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on listed Cisco Small Business RV routers where the web-based management interface is reachable by administrators over LAN, VPN, or the internet. Internet-exposed management planes and stale administrator credentials raise urgency. The provided bundle does not identify affected firmware ranges or CPEs.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited active exploitation. Exploitation requires valid administrator credentials, but successful exploitation gives root-level code execution. Treat compromised admin accounts or externally reachable management interfaces as higher-risk conditions.
Researcher notes
Key constraints are PR:H and authenticated web management access. The root execution impact is severe, but the source bundle does not provide exploit artifacts, fixed firmware versions, or active exploitation evidence. Validate exposure through asset inventory, interface reachability, firmware state, and credential hygiene rather than offensive testing.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Cisco RV016, RV042, RV042G, RV082, RV320, and RV325 routers.
- Check Cisco advisory for fixed firmware, replacement, or model-specific guidance.
- Restrict management interface access to trusted admin networks or VPN only.
- Review and rotate router administrator credentials where exposure is suspected.
- Monitor router administration logs for unexpected authenticated management activity.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any listed RV Series models are deployed.
- Record firmware versions and compare them with Cisco advisory guidance.
- Verify the management interface is not exposed to untrusted networks.
- Review administrator accounts for shared, stale, or unknown credentials.
- Check vulnerability management records for CVE-2021-1315 coverage.
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-20: Exact CWE lookup
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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-2021-1315 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
- 20210203 Cisco Small Business RV Series Routers Management Interface Command Injection 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.
Improper Input Validation
Improper Input Validation represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.