Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A flaw in ASUS BMC web management can let a highly privileged remote user crash the BMC web service when generating a new SSL certificate. The main business impact is loss of remote management availability, not data theft or direct system takeover based on the supplied sources.
Executive priority
Handle as a moderate-priority infrastructure risk. Escalate if affected BMC interfaces are internet-exposed, shared across many servers, or used for critical production recovery.
Technical view
CVE-2021-28187 is a CWE-120 buffer overflow in the Generate new SSL certificate function of ASUS BMC firmware. The function fails to validate user-supplied string length. CVSS 3.1 is 4.9: network reachable, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, availability impact high.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to ASUS BMC firmware for Z10PR-D16 1.14.51, ASMB8-iKVM 1.14.51, and Z10PE-D16 WS 1.14.2, especially where the BMC web interface is reachable and privileged accounts are available.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show active exploitation, and CISA KEV status is false. The vulnerability requires high privileges, which reduces likelihood, but BMC management planes are sensitive because a web service crash can affect remote operations on servers.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies an availability-only buffer overflow with high privileges required. The supplied sources do not name a fixed version, public exploit, or detailed root cause beyond missing string length validation in certificate generation.
Mitigation direction
- Check ASUS security guidance for fixed firmware or official mitigations.
- Restrict BMC web management to isolated management networks or VPN access.
- Review privileged BMC accounts and remove unnecessary access.
- Monitor BMC web service availability for unexpected termination.
- Plan firmware updates through normal server maintenance windows.
Validation and detection
- Inventory ASUS BMC models and firmware versions.
- Confirm whether any systems match the listed affected versions.
- Verify BMC web interfaces are not exposed to untrusted networks.
- Review BMC administrative account assignments and authentication controls.
- Check vendor advisory or support channels for remediation status.
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
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CWE-120: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-28187 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-132-4557-1019f-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.