Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-38480 is a critical cross-site request forgery issue in InHand Networks IR615 Router firmware 2.3.0.r4724 and 2.3.0.r4870. If an authenticated router administrator is tricked into a malicious interaction, an attacker may cause trusted management-portal actions, including configuration changes, administrator credential changes, or system command execution.
Executive priority
Treat as urgent for affected industrial or remote-access environments. The issue can affect router control and availability, but prioritization should be based on confirmed use of the listed firmware and management portal exposure.
Technical view
The flaw is CWE-352 in the IR615 web management application. The CVSS 3.1 score is 9.6 with network attack vector, low complexity, no attacker privileges, required user interaction, changed scope, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. The available bundle does not identify a fixed firmware version.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations using InHand Networks IR615 Routers on firmware 2.3.0.r4724 or 2.3.0.r4870, especially where administrators access the management portal and can be induced to interact with attacker-controlled content.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction from a trusted web-application user, but successful abuse could remotely alter router configuration, change administrator credentials, or run system commands.
Researcher notes
Evidence is source-limited. The bundle identifies affected versions and impact, but not a fixed version, proof-of-concept status, or observed exploitation. The CVSS vector supports high urgency while preserving the important requirement for trusted-user interaction.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory IR615 routers and identify firmware versions.
- Check InHand Networks and CISA guidance for fixed firmware or official mitigations.
- Restrict management portal access to trusted administrative networks.
- Avoid using active administrator sessions while browsing untrusted sites.
- Review administrator credentials and rotate them if compromise is suspected.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any IR615 device runs 2.3.0.r4724 or 2.3.0.r4870.
- Verify management portal exposure and who can reach it.
- Review router logs for unexpected configuration or administrator account changes.
- Check whether administrators recently reported suspicious browser prompts or links.
- Document firmware status and remediation owner for each affected router.
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-352: 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-2021-38480 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/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:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H2.86Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.6CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/advisories/icsa-21-280-05CVE 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.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.