Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability affects specific ASUS BMC firmware used for server management. A privileged remote user can trigger a buffer overflow in the Web License configuration page and cause the BMC web service to terminate abnormally. The known impact is availability loss, not data theft or system takeover.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate infrastructure management-plane issue. It is not reported as actively exploited, but affected BMCs can lose web management availability if abused by a privileged remote user. Prioritize inventory, access restriction, and vendor-guided firmware remediation.
Technical view
CVE-2021-28183 is a CWE-120 buffer overflow in ASUS BMC firmware Web management Web License configuration handling. The vulnerable function fails to validate user-supplied string length. CVSS 3.1 is 4.9: network attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, high availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to ASUS BMC firmware for Z10PR-D16 1.14.51, ASMB8-iKVM 1.14.51, and Z10PE-D16 WS 1.14.2 where the BMC web management interface is reachable by privileged users.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or public evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires authenticated privileged access over the network. The documented outcome is abnormal termination of the web service, creating a management-plane availability issue.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description, CVSS vector, affected ASUS BMC firmware versions, and public advisory links. No exploit details, patch version, or confirmed exploitation are provided in the bundle. Avoid assuming broader ASUS BMC exposure without vendor confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Check ASUS and TWCERT guidance for affected firmware and available remediation.
- Inventory ASUS BMC firmware versions against the listed affected products.
- Restrict BMC web management access to trusted administration networks only.
- Limit privileged BMC accounts to necessary administrators.
- Monitor BMC web service availability until remediation is confirmed.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any listed ASUS BMC models and versions are deployed.
- Verify BMC web interfaces are not reachable from untrusted networks.
- Review BMC logs for abnormal web service termination events.
- Confirm privileged BMC account access is restricted and reviewed.
- Track vendor advisory status before declaring closure.
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-120: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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-2021-28183 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
- 4.9 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.23.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.9MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.asus.com/content/ASUS-Product-Security-Advisory/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.asus.com/tw/support/callus/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.twcert.org.tw/tw/cp-132-4553-06ae2-1.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.