# CVE-2021-27796: Path traversal in Brocade Fabric OS

> Authenticated attackers in restricted shell can read arbitrary files on Brocade Fabric OS devices via available binaries.

- **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:** 21 Feb 2022
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gh9w-mq5f-6242

## What is CVE-2021-27796?

CVE-2021-27796 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Broadcom Fabric Operating System, published on 21 Feb 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in Brocade Fabric OS versions before Brocade Fabric OS v8.0.1b, v7.4.1d could allow an authenticated attacker within the restricted shell environment (rbash) as either the “user” or “factory” account, to read the contents of any file on the filesystem utilizing one of a few available binaries.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-27796?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Broadcom Fabric Operating System.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-27796?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-27796 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-27796 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-27796 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Broadcom Fabric Operating System

- [CVE-2025-1976](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-1976/): Broadcom Brocade Fabric OS Code Injection (high 8.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-22555](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22555/): Linux Kernel Heap Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-33186](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-33186/): Command injection in Brocade Fabric OS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-27797](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27797/): Hardcoded credentials in Brocade Fabric OS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-15371](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15371/): Code injection in Brocade Fabric OS (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-27796 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-27796 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Broadcom Fabric Operating System, published on 21 Feb 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-27796 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Broadcom Fabric Operating System. 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-2021-27796/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27796/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-27796
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-27796
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-27796

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27796/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.