# CVE-2021-1296: Cisco Small Business RV160, RV160W, RV260, RV260P, and RV260W VPN Routers Arbitrary File Write Vulnerabilities

> Unauthenticated attackers can exploit directory traversal in the web interface to overwrite restricted files on Cisco Small Business VPN Routers.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Feb 2021
- **Updated:** 8 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3f2h-3gpm-gq2c

## What is CVE-2021-1296?

CVE-2021-1296 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Small Business RV Series Router Firmware, published on 4 Feb 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco Small Business RV160, RV160W, RV260, RV260P, and RV260W VPN Routers could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct directory traversal attacks and overwrite certain files that should be restricted on an affected system. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by using the web-based management interface to upload a file to location on an affected device that they should not have access to. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to overwrite files on the file system of the affected device.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory), CWE-36 (Absolute Path Traversal)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-1296?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Cisco Rv160 Vpn Router Firmware, Cisco Rv160w Wireless-Ac Vpn Router Firmware, Cisco Rv260 Vpn Router Firmware, Cisco Rv260p Vpn Router With Poe Firmware, Cisco Rv260w Wireless-Ac Vpn Router Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-1296?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-1296 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-1296 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1296 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Small Business RV Series Router Firmware

- [CVE-2021-1289](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1289/): Cisco Small Business RV160, RV160W, RV260, RV260P, and RV260W VPN Routers Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-1290](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1290/): Cisco Small Business RV160, RV160W, RV260, RV260P, and RV260W VPN Routers Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-1291](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1291/): Cisco Small Business RV160, RV160W, RV260, RV260P, and RV260W VPN Routers Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-1292](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1292/): Cisco Small Business RV160, RV160W, RV260, RV260P, and RV260W VPN Routers Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-1293](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1293/): Cisco Small Business RV160, RV160W, RV260, RV260P, and RV260W VPN Routers Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-1296 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-1296 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Small Business RV Series Router Firmware, published on 4 Feb 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1296 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Small Business RV Series Router Firmware. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1296/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1296/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-1296
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-1296
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-1296

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1296/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.