CVE-2021-1144
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows any authenticated user (without administrative privileges) on Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX) to change any user's password, including administrators. Attackers can then impersonate those users, potentially gaining full system control. Only Cisco CMX systems running vulnerable versions are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX)
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker gains administrative privileges, takes full control of the CMX system, and uses it as a foothold to pivot to other network resources.
Likely Case
An authenticated user escalates privileges to administrator level, modifies configurations, accesses sensitive location data, or disrupts services.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and monitoring, impact is limited to the CMX system itself, though credential compromise remains serious.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending a modified HTTP request; authenticated access makes this straightforward for insiders or compromised accounts.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Release 10.6.2 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-cmxpe-75Asy9k
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download CMX release 10.6.2 or later from Cisco. 2. Backup current configuration. 3. Apply the update via the CMX web interface or CLI. 4. Restart the system as required.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Network Access
allLimit access to CMX management interfaces to trusted IP addresses only.
Configure firewall rules to allow only authorized management networks to access CMX web/API interfaces.
Monitor Authentication Logs
allIncrease logging and monitoring for password change events and unusual user activity.
Enable detailed audit logging in CMX and configure alerts for password modifications.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate the CMX system on a dedicated VLAN with strict access controls.
- Implement multi-factor authentication for all CMX user accounts if supported.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the CMX version via the web interface (Admin > About) or CLI command 'show version' and compare to vulnerable releases.Check Version:
show versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm the system is running CMX release 10.6.2 or later and test that non-admin users cannot change other users' passwords.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to password change endpoints from non-admin users
- Unusual user privilege changes or login patterns
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected HTTP traffic to CMX management interfaces from unauthorized sources
SIEM Query:
source="cmx" AND (url_path="/api/password/change" OR event_type="password_change") AND user_role!="admin"