Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a phishing-enablement issue in Cisco IMC’s web management interface. An attacker cannot directly take over the system from the description alone, but could trick an admin or user into clicking a trusted-looking Cisco IMC link that redirects to a malicious site.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority management-plane hygiene issue. It is unlikely to cause direct server compromise by itself, but it can support phishing against administrators and should be remediated during normal vulnerability maintenance.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1397 is a CWE-601 open redirect caused by improper validation of HTTP request parameters in Cisco Integrated Management Controller Software. It is unauthenticated and network-reachable, but requires user interaction. CVSS v3.1 is 4.7, with low integrity impact and no confidentiality or availability impact listed.
Likely exposure
Organizations using Cisco Unified Computing System in standalone mode with Cisco IMC web management interfaces may be exposed. The bundle does not identify exact affected or fixed versions, so exposure must be confirmed against Cisco’s advisory and local asset inventory.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires persuading a user to click a crafted link, making the most realistic threat phishing, credential harvesting, or brand-trust abuse around management infrastructure.
Researcher notes
The evidence supports open redirect behavior, unauthenticated reachability, and required user interaction. The bundle does not provide affected version ranges, fixed releases, exploit examples, or observed exploitation, so avoid broader claims without Cisco advisory confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Check Cisco’s advisory for affected and fixed IMC Software versions.
- Update affected Cisco IMC deployments according to vendor guidance.
- Restrict management interface access to trusted administrative networks.
- Warn administrators about unexpected IMC links in email or chat.
- Monitor for suspicious referrals involving IMC management URLs.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco UCS standalone systems using IMC Software.
- Confirm each IMC version against Cisco’s advisory.
- Review whether IMC interfaces are internet-accessible or broadly reachable.
- Check security tools for open redirect findings on IMC URLs.
- Look for phishing reports referencing IMC management links.
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-601: 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-2021-1397 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
- 4.7 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/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:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N2.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.7MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20210505 Cisco Integrated Management Controller Open Redirect 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.
URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect')
URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.