Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a stored cross-site scripting issue in Cisco Identity Services Engine’s web management interface. A malicious authenticated administrator could store script content that runs when another user views affected pages, potentially exposing browser-based information or changing interface actions.
Executive priority
Handle through normal vulnerability management unless ISE admin credentials are suspected compromised or management access is broadly exposed. Prioritize confirming version exposure, limiting admin access, and applying Cisco guidance before the next maintenance window.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1607 covers multiple CWE-79 flaws in Cisco ISE Software caused by insufficient validation of user-supplied input in management UI pages. CVSS 3.1 is 4.8: network-reachable, low complexity, high privileges required, user interaction required, changed scope, low confidentiality and integrity impact, no availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is primarily organizations running Cisco Identity Services Engine Software with users who can access the web-based management interface. Risk depends on deployed versions and admin access controls; the supplied bundle does not identify specific affected or fixed versions.
Exploitation context
The source states exploitation requires valid administrative credentials and a victim user interaction. There is no KEV listing and no provided source claims active exploitation. This is more relevant to insider, compromised-admin, or lateral-movement scenarios than initial compromise.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports stored XSS in Cisco ISE’s management UI with high privileges and user interaction required. The bundle lacks affected-version and fixed-release detail, so remediation should be anchored to Cisco’s advisory rather than inferred.
Mitigation direction
- Review the Cisco advisory for affected and fixed ISE releases.
- Apply Cisco-recommended updates or mitigations once version applicability is confirmed.
- Limit ISE management interface access to trusted administrative networks.
- Audit and minimize accounts with ISE administrative privileges.
- Monitor administrative activity for suspicious content changes or unexpected UI behavior.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco ISE deployments and record exact software versions.
- Compare deployed versions against Cisco’s advisory guidance.
- Confirm management UI access is restricted to authorized administrators.
- Review admin account lists for stale, shared, or excessive privileges.
- Check logs for unusual administrative changes around interface content.
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-79: 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-2021-1607 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
- 4.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N1.72.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20210707 Cisco Identity Services Engine Stored Cross-Site Scripting 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 Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
