TI-2021-01174 Aliases CVE-2021-1447 GHSA-mvqh-q454-4f7x

Cisco Content Security Management Appliance Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

LOW 31CWE-269Published 2021-05-06 · Updated 2024-11-08

Key facts

Attack vector: Local
Privileges required: High
User interaction: None
Attack complexity: Low
Impact type: Privilege escalation
Confidentiality · integrity · availability: High · High · High
Fix status: No fix listed

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-269.

Summary

A vulnerability in the user account management system of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Content Security Management Appliance (SMA) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate their privileges to root. This vulnerability is due to a procedural flaw in the password generation algorithm. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by enabling specific Administrator-only features and connecting to the appliance through the CLI with elevated privileges. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root and access the underlying operating system. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid Administrator credentials.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV

EPSS 0.00275 19th percentileScored 2026-11-07

Fix No fix listed No fixed version in the sources yet

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation: None
Automatable: No
Technical impact: Total

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

Vendor	Product	Affected versions	Fixed in	Status	Source
Cisco	Cisco Content Security Management Appliance (SMA)	all versions	—	No fix listed	CNA

Cisco Content Security Management Appliance (SMA) VendorCisco Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 1

CPE	Versions	Role	Vendor
cpe:2.3:a:cisco:content_security_management_appliance::::::::	before 12.8.1-002; 13.0.0-249 to before 13.8.1-068	Vulnerable	Cisco

cpe:2.3:a:cisco:content_security_management_appliance:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 12.8.1-002; 13.0.0-249 to before 13.8.1-068 Vulnerable ·Cisco

Remediation

No fixed version listed by the sources yet.

Timeline

2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-1447
2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-mvqh-q454-4f7x

References

Advisory 1

20210505 Cisco Content Security Management Appliance Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

TI-2016-01993 The DES and Triple DES ciphers, as used in the TLS, SSH, and IPSec protocols and other… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
TI-2014-01669 The End User Safelist/Blocklist (aka SLBL) service in Cisco AsyncOS Software for Email… CVSS 2.0HIGH 8.5
TI-2015-05308 Cisco AsyncOS before 8.5.7-042, 9.x before 9.1.0-032, 9.1.x before 9.1.1-023, and 9.5.x… CVSS 2.0HIGH 7.8
TI-2013-04730 The web framework on Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA), Email Security Appliance (ESA)… CVSS 2.0HIGH 7.8
TI-2019-01602 Cisco Email Security Appliance and Cisco Content Security Management Appliance Denial of Service Vulnerability CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
TI-2020-02726 Cisco ESA, Cisco WSA, and Cisco SMA GUI Denial of Service Vulnerability CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3

See all 26 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences