CVE-2021-1398 Cisco IOS XE Software Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability
An attacker with local access or physical presence can execute arbitrary code on Cisco IOS XE devices by tampering with boot files, potentially bypassing secure boot.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2021-1398?
CVE-2021-1398 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, 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 boot logic of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with level 15 privileges or an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to execute arbitrary code on the underlying Linux operating system of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to incorrect validations of specific function arguments that are passed to the boot script. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by tampering with a specific file, which an affected device would process during the initial boot process. On systems that are protected by the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) secure boot feature, a successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute unsigned code at boot time and bypass the image verification check in the secure boot process of the affected device.
Weakness: CWE-489
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-1398?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Cisco Ios Xe.
How do I fix CVE-2021-1398?
No fix has been published for CVE-2021-1398 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and never evaluate templates, expressions or code built from user input. More about Code injection.
Is CVE-2021-1398 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1398 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Ios Xe
- CVE-2023-20198 Cisco IOS XE Web UI Privilege Escalation
- CVE-2018-0151 Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software Quality of Service Remote Code Execution
- CVE-2023-20273 Cisco IOS XE Web UI Command Injection
- CVE-2025-20188 Hardcoded credentials in Cisco IOS XE Software
- CVE-2021-34770 Cisco IOS XE Software for Catalyst 9000 Family Wireless Controllers CAPWAP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Sources
Also known as GHSA-57gp-qx9r-6m7m.