CVE-2021-1572

ConfD CLI Secure Shell Server Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: August 4, 2021 at 05:20 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 03:32 AM UTC
2 products affected across 1 vendorNetwork Services OrchestratorConfd

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

A vulnerability in ConfD could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands at the level of the account under which ConfD is running, which is commonly root. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must have a valid account on an affected device. The vulnerability exists because the affected software incorrectly runs the SFTP user service at the privilege level of the account that was running when the ConfD built-in Secure Shell (SSH) server for CLI was enabled. If the ConfD built-in SSH server was not enabled, the device is not affected by this vulnerability. An attacker with low-level privileges could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to an affected device and issuing a series of commands at the SFTP interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate privileges to the level of the account under which ConfD is running, which is commonly root. Note: Any user who can authenticate to the built-in SSH server may exploit this vulnerability. By default, all ConfD users have this access if the server is enabled. Software updates that address this vulnerability have been released.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

7.4 ≤ v ≤ 7.4.37.5 ≤ v ≤ 7.5.2
5.4 ≤ v ≤ 5.4.3.15.5 ≤ v ≤ 5.5.2.2

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.8HIGHcisco
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-266CWE-269

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