# CVE-2021-1589: Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software Disaster Recovery Feature Password Exposure Vulnerability

> Authenticated attackers can access API endpoints to steal administrative credentials, enabling further unauthorized access to Cisco SD-WAN vManage systems.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 23 Sep 2021
- **Updated:** 7 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6fff-rx48-97mq

## What is CVE-2021-1589?

CVE-2021-1589 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco SD-WAN vManage, published on 23 Sep 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the disaster recovery feature of Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to gain unauthorized access to user credentials. This vulnerability exists because access to API endpoints is not properly restricted. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a request to an API endpoint. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain unauthorized access to administrative credentials that could be used in further attacks.

Weakness: CWE-522 (Insufficiently Protected Credentials), CWE-256 (Plaintext Storage of a Password)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-1589?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Sd-Wan.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-1589?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-1589 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-1589 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1589 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco SD-WAN vManage

- [CVE-2020-3374](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3374/): Cisco SD-WAN vManage Software Authorization Bypass Vulnerability (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2018-15387](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-15387/): Cisco SD-WAN Solution Certificate Validation Bypass Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-1624](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1624/): Cisco SD-WAN Solution Command Injection Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-1650](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1650/): Cisco SD-WAN Solution Arbitrary File Overwrite Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-3180](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3180/): Cisco SD-WAN Solution Software Static Credentials Vulnerability (high 8.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-1589 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-1589 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco SD-WAN vManage, published on 23 Sep 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1589 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco SD-WAN vManage. 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-2021-1589/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1589/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-1589
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-1589
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-1589

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1589/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.