# CVE-2021-40858: Path traversal in n/a

> A sub-admin can exploit path traversal to read the cleartext admin password, enabling privilege escalation on Auerswald COMpact 5500R devices.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Dec 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9w6r-rp23-g8hv

## What is CVE-2021-40858?

CVE-2021-40858 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 13 Dec 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Auerswald COMpact 5500R devices before 8.2B allow Arbitrary File Disclosure. A sub-admin can read the cleartext Admin password via the fileName=../../etc/passwd substring.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-40858?

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-2021-40858?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-40858 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-40858 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-40858 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2021-40857](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40857/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-40858 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-40858 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 13 Dec 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-40858 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-2021-40858/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40858/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-40858
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-40858
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-40858

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40858/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.