# CVE-2021-1371: Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software Console Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

> Authenticated local attackers with read-only console access can escalate to administrative privileges in Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN devices using default configurations.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Mar 2021
- **Updated:** 8 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8qm4-vmvc-xrpj

## What is CVE-2021-1371?

CVE-2021-1371 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software, published on 24 Mar 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the role-based access control of Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with read-only privileges to obtain administrative privileges by using the console port when the device is in the default SD-WAN configuration. This vulnerability occurs because the default configuration is applied for console authentication and authorization. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to the console port and authenticating as a read-only user. A successful exploit could allow a user with read-only permissions to access administrative privileges.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-1371?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios Xe Sd-Wan.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-1371?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-1371 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-1371 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1371 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS XE Software

- [CVE-2021-34727](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-34727/): Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software Buffer Overflow Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-3375](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3375/): Cisco SD-WAN Solution Software Buffer Overflow Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-1305](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1305/): Cisco SD-WAN vManage Authorization Bypass Vulnerabilities (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-20035](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20035/): Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software Command Injection Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-3216](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3216/): Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software Authentication Bypass Vulnerability (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-1371 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-1371 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software, published on 24 Mar 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1371 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco IOS XE Software. 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-2021-1371/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1371/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-1371
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-1371
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-1371

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1371/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.