# CVE-2021-21725: Path traversal in ZXHN H196Q

> An attacker with higher authority can access files in other directories on ZTE ZXHN H196Q routers, leading to information disclosure.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/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:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Mar 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-ww8w-98rf-98pg

## What is CVE-2021-21725?

CVE-2021-21725 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in ZXHN H196Q, published on 5 Mar 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A ZTE product has an information leak vulnerability. An attacker with higher authority can go beyond their authority to access files in other directories by performing specific operations, resulting in information leak. This affects: ZXHN H196Q V9.1.0C2.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-21725?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Zte Zxhn H196q Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-21725?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-21725 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-21725 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21725 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-21725 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-21725 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in ZXHN H196Q, published on 5 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-2021-21725 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ZXHN H196Q. 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-2021-21725/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21725/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-21725
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21725
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-21725

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21725/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.