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Catalyst Center CVE-2021-1303

HIGH
Incorrect Privilege Assignment (CWE-266)
2021-01-20 psirt@cisco.com
8.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Privilege assignment review
Impact

CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the high-severity affected system.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 1.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

A vulnerability in the user management roles of Cisco DNA Center could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute unauthorized commands on an affected device. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-266. A vulnerability in the user management roles of Cisco DNA Center could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute unauthorized commands on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper enforcement of actions for assigned user roles. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating as a user with an Observer role and executing commands on the affected device. A successful exploit could allow a user with the Observer role to execute commands to view diagnostic information of the devices that Cisco DNA Center manages. Affected products include: Cisco Catalyst Center.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

A vulnerability in the user management roles of Cisco DNA Center could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute unauthorized commands on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper enforcement of actions for assigned user roles. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating as a user with an Observer role and executing commands on the affected device. A successful exploit could allow a user with the Observer role to execute commands to view diagnostic information of the devices that Cisco DNA Center manages.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.4%
Top 31% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 1.4%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

45
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:cisco:catalyst_center:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2025-20349 HIGH
8.8 Nov 13

Command injection in the REST API of Cisco Catalyst Center allows an authenticated remote attacker with at least Observe

CVE-2023-20182 HIGH
8.8 May 18

Multiple vulnerabilities in the API of Cisco DNA Center Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to read i

CVE-2023-20055 HIGH
8.8 Mar 23

A vulnerability in the management API of Cisco DNA Center could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privi

CVE-2021-1264 HIGH
8.8 Jan 20

A vulnerability in the Command Runner tool of Cisco DNA Center could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform

CVE-2021-1257 HIGH
8.8 Jan 20

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco DNA Center Software could allow an unauthenticated, remot

CVE-2024-20350 HIGH
8.1 Sep 25

A vulnerability in the SSH server of Cisco Catalyst Center, formerly Cisco DNA Center, could allow an unauthenticated, r

CVE-2019-1841 HIGH
8.1 Apr 18

A vulnerability in the Software Image Management feature of Cisco DNA Center could allow an authenticated, remote attack

CVE-2026-20191 HIGH
7.5 Jul 01

Arbitrary file read in Cisco Catalyst Center lets an unauthenticated, remote attacker retrieve files from a restricted c

CVE-2020-3411 HIGH
7.5 Aug 17

A vulnerability in Cisco DNA Center software could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker access to sensitive informat

CVE-2021-1134 HIGH
7.4 Jun 29

A vulnerability in the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) integration feature of the Cisco DNA Center Software could a

CVE-2023-20059 MEDIUM
6.5 Mar 23

A vulnerability in the implementation of the Cisco Network Plug-and-Play (PnP) agent of Cisco DNA Center could allow an

CVE-2021-1265 MEDIUM
6.5 Jan 20

A vulnerability in the configuration archive functionality of Cisco DNA Center could allow any privilege-level authentic

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