# CVE-2021-1452: Cisco IOS XE ROM Monitor Software for Cisco Industrial Switches OS Command Injection Vulnerability

> Physical attackers can inject commands into ROMMON variables to execute unsigned code and bypass secure boot verification on Cisco industrial switches.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **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-xhfj-h4w3-cwv4

## What is CVE-2021-1452?

CVE-2021-1452 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE ROMMON 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 ROM Monitor (ROMMON) of Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco Catalyst IE3200, IE3300, and IE3400 Rugged Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst IE3400 Heavy Duty Series Switches, and Cisco Embedded Services 3300 Series Switches could allow an unauthenticated, physical attacker to execute unsigned code at system boot time. This vulnerability is due to incorrect validations of specific function arguments passed to a boot script when specific ROMMON variables are set. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by setting malicious values for a specific ROMMON variable. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute unsigned code and bypass the image verification check during the secure boot process of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have unauthenticated, physical access to the device or obtain privileged access to the root shell on the device.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-1452?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios Xe Rom Monitor.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-1452?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-1452 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-1452 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1452 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS XE ROMMON Software

- [CVE-2020-3524](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3524/): Cisco IOS XE ROM Monitor Software Vulnerability (medium 6.4)
- [CVE-2022-20864](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20864/): Cisco IOS XE ROM Monitor Software for Catalyst Switches Information Disclosure Vulnerability (medium 4.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-1452 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-1452 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE ROMMON 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-2021-1452 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco IOS XE ROMMON 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-2021-1452/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1452/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-1452
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-1452
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-1452

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1452/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.