CVE-2021-1359
Cisco Web Security Appliance Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the configuration management of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform command injection and elevate privileges to root. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied XML input for the web interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading crafted XML configuration files that contain scripting code to a vulnerable device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. An attacker would need a valid user account with the rights to upload configuration files to exploit this vulnerability.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
6.3
Cisco Web Security Appliance Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the configuration management of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform command injection and elevate privileges to root. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied XML input for the web interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading crafted XML configuration files that contain scripting code to a vulnerable device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. An attacker would need a valid user account with the rights to upload configuration files to exploit this vulnerability.
- Record
CVE-2021-1359- CVSS 3.1
- 6.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-112
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-6826
6.3
A vulnerability in the configuration management of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform command injection and elevate privileges to root. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied XML input for the web interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading crafted XML configuration files that contain scripting code to a vulnerable device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. An attacker would need a valid user account with the rights to upload configuration files to exploit this vulnerability.
- Record
EUVD-2021-6826- CVSS 3.1
- 6.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-9x2v-q9rg-r4cc No score
A vulnerability in the configuration management of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Web Security Appliance...
A vulnerability in the configuration management of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform command injection and elevate privileges to root. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied XML input for the web interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading crafted XML configuration files that contain scripting code to a vulnerable device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. An attacker would need a valid user account with the rights to upload configuration files to exploit this vulnerability.
- Record
GHSA-9x2v-q9rg-r4cc- Weakness
- CWE-74
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
6.3
A vulnerability in the configuration management of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform command injection and elevate privileges to root. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied XML input for the web interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading crafted XML configuration files that contain scripting code to a vulnerable device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root. An attacker would need a valid user account with the rights to upload configuration files to exploit this vulnerability.
- Record
CVE-2021-1359- CVSS 3.1
- 6.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L - CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 9.0 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-112
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-1359 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.3) in Cisco Asyncos, published July 8, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.88%, the 79th percentile. No source names a fixed version.