Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cisco Application Services Engine had critical unauthenticated remote access flaws. An exposed ASE deployment could let an outsider reach privileged host-level operations or obtain device-specific information and make limited changes. The provided sources do not identify affected version ranges or fixed releases, so exposure requires Cisco advisory verification.
Executive priority
Prioritize this as critical for any organization using Cisco ASE. The business risk is unauthorized control or sensitive device information exposure. If ASE is deployed and reachable beyond tightly controlled networks, assign immediate ownership for exposure verification and vendor-guided remediation.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1393 is a CWE-306 missing-authentication issue in Cisco Application Services Engine Software. The CVSS 3.1 score is 9.8 with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction. The bundle states high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact but lacks version and patch details.
Likely exposure
Likely exposure is limited to organizations running Cisco Application Services Engine Software, especially if management or service interfaces are reachable from untrusted networks. The source bundle lists the affected product but does not provide CPEs, exact versions, or deployment-specific exposure conditions.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. Risk remains high because the issue is unauthenticated, remote, low-complexity, and can affect privileged host-level operations. Treat internet-exposed or broadly reachable ASE deployments as urgent until verified.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a missing-authentication vulnerability with severe CVSS impact in Cisco ASE. The provided bundle does not include exploit details, exact vulnerable versions, fixed versions, workaround text, or proof of exploitation. Validation should remain non-invasive and focused on inventory, reachability, advisory matching, and log review.
Mitigation direction
- Review the Cisco advisory for affected releases and fixed software guidance.
- Inventory all Cisco Application Services Engine deployments and owners.
- Limit ASE access to trusted administrative networks only.
- Remove unnecessary external reachability to ASE management or service interfaces.
- Monitor Cisco advisories for updated remediation details.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Cisco Application Services Engine Software is deployed.
- Compare deployed releases against Cisco advisory affected-version guidance.
- Verify ASE interfaces are not reachable from untrusted networks.
- Review logs for unexpected privileged operations or configuration changes.
- Check for unexpected diagnostic file creation or device-information access.
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-306: Credential and account abuse lookup
Authentication and credential weaknesses can make valid-account abuse and credential telemetry useful review starting points. 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-2021-1393 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20210224 Cisco Application Services Engine Unauthorized Access 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.
Missing Authentication for Critical Function
Missing Authentication for Critical Function represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.