Cyber Resilience

CVE-2021-44228

RCE in Cisco Webex Meetings Server ≤ 3.0

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedRCEDeserializationDoS
Published
10 December 2021
Modified
11 August 2026
KEV Added
10 December 2021
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 10.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.99 100.0th percentile
Risk Priority 100 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2021-44228 is a critical-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability in Cisco Webex Meetings Server. Its CVSS base score is 10.0 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique OS Exhaustion Flood (T1499.001); ranked in the top 0.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Apache Log4j2 versions 2.0-beta9 through 2.15.0, excluding the security releases 2.12.2, 2.12.3, and 2.3.1, are affected by a flaw in JNDI features used within configuration, log messages, and parameters. These features do not protect against attacker-controlled LDAP and other JNDI endpoints, enabling arbitrary code execution when message lookup substitution is enabled. The issue is specific to log4j-core and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 10.0.

An attacker able to control log messages or log message parameters can trigger the vulnerability to load and execute arbitrary code from remote LDAP servers. No privileges or user interaction are required, and the attack can be performed over the network with impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The provided references include multiple public proofs of concept for remote code execution and information disclosure against affected versions, along with vendor advisories. The underlying description states that the behavior was disabled by default starting in 2.15.0 and the functionality was fully removed in 2.16.0 and the listed security releases.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Apache Log4j2 2.0-beta9 through 2.15.0 (excluding security releases 2.12.2, 2.12.3, and 2.3.1) JNDI features used in configuration, log messages, and parameters do not protect against attacker controlled LDAP and other JNDI related endpoints. An attacker who can control log messages…

more

or log message parameters can execute arbitrary code loaded from LDAP servers when message lookup substitution is enabled. From log4j 2.15.0, this behavior has been disabled by default. From version 2.16.0 (along with 2.12.2, 2.12.3, and 2.3.1), this functionality has been completely removed. Note that this vulnerability is specific to log4j-core and does not affect log4net, log4cxx, or other Apache Logging Services projects.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
10 December 2021

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1499.001 OS Exhaustion Flood Impact
Adversaries may launch a denial of service (DoS) attack targeting an endpoint's operating system (OS).
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1498 Network Denial of Service Impact
Adversaries may perform Network Denial of Service (DoS) attacks to degrade or block the availability of targeted resources to users.
T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Impact
Adversaries may perform Endpoint Denial of Service (DoS) attacks to degrade or block the availability of services to users.
T1499.002 Service Exhaustion Flood Impact
Adversaries may target the different network services provided by systems to conduct a denial of service (DoS).
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-46604Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2017-9805Same product class: NAS / storage applianceboth on KEV
CVE-2025-24813Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2019-7193Same product class: NAS / storage applianceboth on KEV
CVE-2021-39144Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2010-1871Same product: Netapp Oncommand Insightboth on KEV
CVE-2018-19949Same product class: NAS / storage applianceboth on KEV
CVE-2021-45046Same product: Apache Log4Jboth on KEV
CVE-2017-15715Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-31672Same product: Netapp Active Iq Unified Manager

Affected Assets

siemens
6bk1602-0aa12-0tp0 firmware
≤ 2.7.0
siemens
6bk1602-0aa22-0tp0 firmware
≤ 2.7.0
siemens
6bk1602-0aa32-0tp0 firmware
≤ 2.7.0
siemens
6bk1602-0aa42-0tp0 firmware
≤ 2.7.0
siemens
6bk1602-0aa52-0tp0 firmware
≤ 2.7.0
apache
log4j
2.0 · 2.0.1 — 2.3.1 · 2.4.0 — 2.12.2 · 2.13.0 — 2.15.0
siemens
sppa-t3000 ses3000 firmware
all versions
siemens
capital
2019.1 · ≤ 2019.1
siemens
comos
≤ 10.4.2
siemens
desigo cc advanced reports
3.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5.0
+133 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 6 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.1.2
  • V1.3.2
  • V1.3.5
  • V4.3.1

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

Security testing and evaluation at multiple SDLC stages directly detects missing or flawed input validation, with the required remediation process ensuring fixes are applied.

addresses: CWE-20 CWE-502

Directly implements checks on information inputs to reject invalid data before processing.

addresses: CWE-20 CWE-400

Spam protection mechanisms perform filtering and detection on inbound/outbound messages, directly compensating for missing or weak input validation of unsolicited content.

addresses: CWE-400

Limiting concurrent sessions directly prevents uncontrolled resource consumption by capping the number of active sessions per user or account.

addresses: CWE-400

Analysis identifies uncontrolled resource consumption indicative of denial-of-service or abuse attempts.

addresses: CWE-502

Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.

addresses: CWE-400

Contingency plan testing includes resource exhaustion scenarios to verify recovery, making it harder for attackers to sustain exploits that cause uncontrolled consumption.

addresses: CWE-400

Updated contingency plans include current procedures to detect, contain, and recover from resource exhaustion, limiting an attacker's ability to sustain impact from uncontrolled consumption.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.IR-04 mostly match
prevents

Explicitly requires monitoring and maintaining resource capacity, directly addressing uncontrolled consumption to preserve availability.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require and enforce input validation during development.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Continuous monitoring of computing resources can detect resource exhaustion but does not itself enforce allocation limits.

PR.IR-03 partial match
prevents

Resilience mechanisms such as avoiding single points of failure indirectly reduce impact of resource exhaustion.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

Hardened configuration baselines can include resource quotas and limits that constrain consumption.

PR.PS-02 none match
prevents

PR.PS-02 addresses only post-deployment updates/patching and cannot prevent introduction of unsafe deserialization code, yet it can remediate some instances when the flaw exists in outdated libraries or components.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Resource-utilization monitoring and alerting on bottlenecks or overloads limits the impact of denial-of-service or resource-exhaustion attacks.

finds

Testing against a defined set of requirements and using code review plus vulnerability scanning forces validation of inputs and handling of unanticipated conditions, reducing the chance that malformed data will be accepted.

prevents

By continuously monitoring utilization, stress-testing peak loads, and maintaining documented plans to scale or throttle resources, the control directly limits an attacker’s ability to drive a system into uncontrolled resource exhaustion.

finds

Pre-agreed severity-based prioritization and resource allocation during incident triage reduce the likelihood that an attacker-induced resource exhaustion will overwhelm the organization before corrective action is taken.

mitigates

Business-continuity plans that include resource-management controls reduce the likelihood that an attacker can trigger uncontrolled resource consumption by forcing the system into a degraded or fallback state.

mitigates

Defining RTOs and capacity requirements for ICT services during business-impact analysis forces organizations to provision sufficient resources and throttling mechanisms, reducing the likelihood that an attacker can induce denial-of-service through uncontrolled resource consumption.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230265 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-20

References