6.8
MEDIUM
CVE-2021-1453
Cisco Catalyst 9000 Family of switches Cisco IOS XE Software Boot Signature Verification Bypass Vulnerability
Description

A vulnerability in the software image verification functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for the Cisco Catalyst 9000 Family of switches could allow an unauthenticated, physical attacker to execute unsigned code at system boot time. The vulnerability is due to an improper check in the code function that manages the verification of the digital signatures of system image files during the initial boot process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by loading unsigned software on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious software image or execute unsigned code and bypass the image verification check part of the secure boot process of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have unauthenticated physical access to the device or obtain privileged access to the root shell on the device.

INFO

Published Date :

March 24, 2021, 8:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

Nov. 7, 2023, 3:28 a.m.

Remotely Exploitable :

No

Impact Score :

5.9

Exploitability Score :

0.9
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2021-1453 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Cisco ios_xe
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2021-1453.

URL Resource
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ios-xe-cat-verify-BQ5hrXgH Vendor Advisory

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2021-1453 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2021-1453 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Nov. 07, 2023

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed CVSS V3 Cisco Systems, Inc. AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CVSS V3.1 Cisco Systems, Inc. AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Mar. 29, 2021

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V2 NIST (AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C)
    Added CVSS V3.1 NIST AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Changed Reference Type https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ios-xe-cat-verify-BQ5hrXgH No Types Assigned https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ios-xe-cat-verify-BQ5hrXgH Vendor Advisory
    Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.15.1xbs:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:3.15.2xbs:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.4a:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.4s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.6.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.8.1a:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.8.1s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.9.1s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.9.2s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.9.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.9.3s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.9.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.9.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.9.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.10.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.10.1e:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.10.1s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.11.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.11.1b:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.11.1c:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.11.1s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.11.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.1c:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.1s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.2s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.2t:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.3a:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.3s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:16.12.4a:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.1.1s:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.1.1t:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.2.1a:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.3.2a:*:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:17.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Mar. 24, 2021

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Changed Description A vulnerability in the software image verification functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for the Cisco Catalyst 9000 Family of switches could allow an unauthenticated, physical attacker to execute unsigned code at system boot time. The vulnerability is due to an improper check in the code function that manages the verification of the digital signatures of system image files during the initial boot process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by loading unsigned software on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious software image or execute unsigned code and bypass the image verification check part of the secure boot process of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have unauthenticated physical access to the device or obtain privileged access to the root shell on the device. A vulnerability in the software image verification functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for the Cisco Catalyst 9000 Family of switches could allow an unauthenticated, physical attacker to execute unsigned code at system boot time. The vulnerability is due to an improper check in the code function that manages the verification of the digital signatures of system image files during the initial boot process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by loading unsigned software on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious software image or execute unsigned code and bypass the image verification check part of the secure boot process of an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have unauthenticated physical access to the device or obtain privileged access to the root shell on the device.
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2021-1453 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2021-1453 weaknesses.

Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

0.07 }} -0.03%

score

0.28652

percentile

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability