CVE-2021-1449 [Medium] | Security Bypass in Aironet Access Point Software

A vulnerability in the boot logic of Cisco Access Points Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute unsigned code at boot time. The vulnerability is due to an improper check that is performed by the area of code that manages system startup processes. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by modifying a specific file that is stored on the system, which would allow the attacker to bypass existing protections. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute unsigned code at boot time and bypass the software image verification check part of the secure boot process of an affected device. Note: To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have access to the development shell (devshell) on the device.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	0.04%	0.27%	+0.22%
2	2025-03-30	0.07%	0.04%	-0.03%
3	2025-03-29	—	0.07%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

0.04%

0.27%

+0.22%

2025-03-30

0.07%

0.04%

-0.03%

2025-03-29

—

0.07%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
6.7	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. 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:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. 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:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	0.8	5.9	[email protected]
6.7	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. 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:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. 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:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	0.8	5.9	[email protected]
4.6	2.0	MEDIUM	`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P` Click to expand Access vector (AV:L) Requires local access to the target system. Access complexity (AC:L) Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:P) Partial confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:P) Partial integrity impact. Availability impact (A:P) Partial availability impact.	3.9	6.4	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

6.7

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:H): They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

0.8

5.9

[email protected]

6.7

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:H): They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

0.8

5.9

[email protected]

4.6

2.0

MEDIUM

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand

Access vector (AV:L): Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L): Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P): Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P): Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P): Partial availability impact.

3.9

6.4

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-1449

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
cisco	aironet_access_point_software	—	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:aironet_access_point_software:-:::::::*
cisco	catalyst_9800_firmware	< 16.12.5	cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9800_firmware::::::::
cisco	catalyst_9800_firmware	>= 17.1, < 17.3.3	cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9800_firmware::::::::
cisco	catalyst_9800_firmware	>= 17.4, < 17.5.1	cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9800_firmware::::::::
cisco	wireless_lan_controller_software	< 8.5.171.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:wireless_lan_controller_software::::::::
cisco	wireless_lan_controller_software	>= 8.6, < 8.10.150.0	cpe:2.3:a:cisco:wireless_lan_controller_software::::::::

References for CVE-2021-1449

URL	Tags
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ap-privesc-wEVfp8Ud	Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2021-1449 | Cisco Access Point Software Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-1449

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-1449

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-1449

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-1449

References for CVE-2021-1449