# CVE-2021-40857: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Attackers can escalate privileges on Auerswald COMpact 5500R devices by exploiting a vulnerability in the password handling mechanism.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 13 Dec 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-cc82-9xq4-fr7x

## What is CVE-2021-40857?

CVE-2021-40857 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 13 Dec 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Auerswald COMpact 5500R devices before 8.2B allow Privilege Escalation via the passwd=1 substring.

Weakness: CWE-522 (Insufficiently Protected Credentials)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-40857?

It affects 10 products.


Products: Auerswald Commander 6000r Ip Firmware, Auerswald Commander 6000rx Ip Firmware, Auerswald Commander Basic.2\(19\"\) Ip Firmware, Auerswald Commander Business\(19\"\) Ip Firmware, Auerswald Compact 4000 Ip Firmware, Auerswald Compact 5000r Ip Firmware, Auerswald Compact 5010 Voip Ip Firmware, Auerswald Compact 5020 Voip Ip Firmware, Auerswald Compact 5200r Ip Firmware, Auerswald Compact 5500r Ip Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-40857?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-40857 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-40857 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-40857 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2021-40858](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40858/): Path traversal in n/a (medium 4.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-40857 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-40857 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 13 Dec 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-2021-40857 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2021-40857/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40857/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-40857
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-40857
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-40857

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40857/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.