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CVE Record

CVE-2021-1462: Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges on an affected system. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to have a valid Administrator account on an affected system. The vulnerability is due to incorrect privilege assignment. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to an affected system with an Administrator account and creating a malicious file, which the system would parse at a later time. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain root privileges on the affected system.Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

MediumCVSS 4.4Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

An administrator on an affected Cisco SD-WAN vManage system could escalate to root because the CLI assigns privileges incorrectly. This is not a remote unauthenticated issue, but it matters where vManage administrators are numerous, shared, or could be compromised.

Executive priority

Treat as a planned priority patch for SD-WAN management systems. The vulnerability requires administrator access, but root compromise of vManage can create serious operational and network-management risk.

Technical view

CVE-2021-1462 is a local authenticated privilege escalation in Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software. A valid Administrator account is required. Cisco attributes the issue to incorrect privilege assignment; successful exploitation could provide root privileges. Cisco released software updates and states there are no workarounds.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to affected Cisco SD-WAN vManage or Catalyst SD-WAN Manager deployments running listed vulnerable versions. Risk is highest where administrator accounts are shared, weakly protected, or exposed after credential compromise.

Exploitation context

The supplied sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. Exploitation requires local authenticated administrator access, lowering broad attack likelihood but increasing impact after privileged account compromise.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports authenticated local privilege escalation with high integrity impact and no confidentiality or availability impact in CVSS. The bundle does not provide exploit telemetry, fixed release identifiers, or proof-of-concept details.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply Cisco software updates referenced in the Cisco advisory.
  • Do not rely on workarounds; Cisco states none address this vulnerability.
  • Restrict vManage administrator access to named, necessary users only.
  • Enforce MFA and strong credential controls for administrator accounts.
  • Review Cisco guidance before changing production SD-WAN managers.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Cisco SD-WAN Manager or vManage versions against the affected version list.
  • Confirm upgraded systems run a Cisco-fixed release from the advisory.
  • Review administrator account assignments for unnecessary or shared access.
  • Check administrative logs for unexpected privileged local activity.
  • Document compensating controls if upgrade timing is constrained.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
3

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

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description · low confidence lookup

Privilege behavior lookup

The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-1462 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.4 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:X/RL:X/RC:X

Official CVE source material

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.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
4.4CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:X/RL:X/RC:X0.83.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

4.4Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-1462Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:X/RL:X/RC:X

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
CiscoCisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager20.1.12, 19.2.1, 18.4.4, 18.4.5, 20.1.1.1, 20.1.1, 19.3.0, 19.2.2, 19.2.099, 18.3.6, 18.3.7, 19.2.0, 18.3.8, 19.0.0, 19.1.0, 18.4.302, 18.4.303, 19.2.097, 19.2.098, 17.2.10, 18.3.6.1, 19.0.1a, 18.2.0, 18.4.3, 18.4.1, 17.2.8, 18.3.3.1, 18.4.0, 18.3.1, 17.2.6, 17.2.9, 18.3.4, 17.2.5, 18.3.1.1, 18.3.5, 18.4.0.1, 18.3.3, 17.2.7, 17.2.4unknown
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.