CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-3122 — Ncr Command Center Agent security vulnerability

Critical CVSS 9.8

CMCAgent in NCR Command Center Agent 16.3 on Aloha POS/BOH servers permits the submission of a runCommand parameter (within an XML document sent to port 8089) that enables the remote, unauthenticated execution of an arbitrary command as SYSTEM, as exploited in the wild in 2020 and/or 2021. NOTE: the vendor's position is that exploitation occurs only on devices with a certain "misconfiguration."

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.1)
Published
2021-02-07
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-78

Affected products

  • ncr / command_center_agent / 16.3

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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