Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This Cisco advisory covers vulnerabilities in collaboration systems used for call control and messaging presence. A low-privileged authenticated attacker on the network could potentially access sensitive information through path traversal or SQL injection issues. The source bundle does not show active exploitation or KEV listing.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority confidentiality issue for communications infrastructure. It is not reported as actively exploited in the provided sources, but affected systems can hold sensitive directory, messaging, and call-control data, so patch validation should be scheduled promptly.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1357 describes multiple Cisco Unified CM IM&P vulnerabilities, including path traversal and SQL injection. One SQL injection issue also affects Unified CM and Unified CM SME. CVSS 3.1 is 6.5 with network access, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, and high confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Cisco Unified CM IM&P, Unified CM, or Unified CM SME are deployed and reachable by authenticated users over the network. Internet exposure is not stated in the sources; organizations should inventory internal and externally reachable collaboration management surfaces.
Exploitation context
The bundle marks KEV as false and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. The risk is still operationally relevant because exploitation requires only low privileges, no user interaction, and could expose confidential data from unified communications systems.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to CVE metadata and Cisco’s advisory reference. The CVSS vector indicates authenticated network attack with high confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact. Do not assume affected versions, proof-of-concept availability, or remediation details beyond Cisco’s published advisory.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco advisory cisco-sa-imp-trav-inj-dM687ZD6 for affected releases and fixes.
- Apply Cisco-provided updates or remediation guidance for confirmed affected systems.
- Prioritize systems reachable by broad user populations or untrusted network segments.
- If patch status is unclear, seek Cisco vendor guidance before accepting residual risk.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco Unified CM IM&P, Unified CM, and Unified CM SME deployments.
- Compare installed product versions with the Cisco advisory affected-release information.
- Confirm whether low-privileged accounts can reach affected services.
- Verify remediation by confirming installed fixed versions or vendor-approved mitigations.
- Review application logs for unusual authenticated access patterns or database error indicators.
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-35: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. 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 lookupDatabase behavior lookup
The CVE wording references database injection or access, so collection and exfiltration review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-1357 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N2.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20210120 Cisco Unified Communications Products 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.
Path Traversal: '.../...//'
Path Traversal: '.../...//' represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.