CVE-2021-1145 | Cisco StarOS for Cisco ASR 5000 Series Routers Arbitrary File Read Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the Secure FTP (SFTP) of Cisco StarOS for Cisco ASR 5000 Series Routers could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to read arbitrary files on an affected device. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have valid credentials on the affected device. The vulnerability is due to insecure handling of symbolic links. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted SFTP command to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to read arbitrary files on the affected device.

Published: 2021-01-13 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-1145 is rated Moderate Risk (42.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.26%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-1145

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-03-30 0.51% 0.26% -0.25%
2 2025-03-29 0.26% 0.51% +0.25%
3 2025-03-19 0.26%

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-1145

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.8 3.6 [email protected]
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.8 3.6 [email protected]
4.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
8.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-1145

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-1145

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco staros < 21.19.7 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:staros:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-1145

cvelogic Threat Intelligence