CVE-2021-1497 | Cisco HyperFlex HX Command Injection Vulnerabilities

Exp

Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco HyperFlex HX could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to perform command injection attacks against an affected device. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.

Published: 2021-05-06 Last update: 2025-10-28 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-1497 is rated Critical Active Threat (99.4/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 94.40%, 100th percentile). Core evidence: CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2021-11-03) affecting Cisco / HyperFlex HX. a weakness (CWE-78) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. Mandatory action: The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

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

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2021-1497

Name: Cisco HyperFlex HX Installer Virtual Machine Command Injection Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2021-11-03

Action due: 2021-11-17

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2021-1497

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-1497

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 2025-11-21 94.22% 94.40% +0.18%
2 2025-11-18 94.43% 94.22% -0.21%
3 2025-05-10 94.43%

Full EPSS history (17 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-1497

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.
3.9 5.9 [email protected]
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.
3.9 5.9 [email protected]
10.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C 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:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
10.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-1497

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-1497

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco hyperflex_hx_data_platform < 4.0\(2e\) cpe:2.3:o:cisco:hyperflex_hx_data_platform:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco hyperflex_hx_data_platform >= 4.5, < 4.5\(2a\) cpe:2.3:o:cisco:hyperflex_hx_data_platform:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-1497

cvelogic Threat Intelligence