CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-1297 — Cisco Rv160W Wireless-Ac Vpn Router Firmware security vulnerability

High CVSS 9.4

Multiple vulnerabilities in the web-based management interface of Cisco Small Business RV160, RV160W, RV260, RV260P, and RV260W VPN Routers could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct directory traversal attacks and overwrite certain files that should be restricted on an affected system. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by using the web-based management interface to upload a file to location on an affected device that they should not have access to. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to overwrite files on the file system of the affected device.

Severity
High
CVSS
9.4 (2.0)
Published
2021-02-04
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-36, CWE-22

Affected products

  • cisco / rv160w_wireless-ac_vpn_router_firmware
  • cisco / rv260_vpn_router_firmware
  • cisco / rv260p_vpn_router_with_poe_firmware
  • cisco / rv260w_wireless-ac_vpn_router_firmware
  • cisco / rv160_vpn_router_firmware

Matched remediation archetype

Path traversal, unsafe upload, and file handling

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted filenames, archive entries, URLs, and path segments into read, write, include, extraction, and upload operations.
  • Identify filesystem roots, mount permissions, symbolic-link behavior, archive handling, and whether uploaded content is web-accessible or executable.
  • Review canonicalization and containment checks across supported operating systems and storage backends.

Remediate safely

  • Generate server-side storage identifiers and resolve paths beneath a fixed root using filesystem-aware containment checks.
  • Reject absolute, parent-relative, alternate-separator, device, link, and archive entries that escape the intended root.
  • Store uploads outside executable or served paths, validate type and size, and use private atomic temporary files.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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