Known exploited · Cisco

CVE-2021-1498: Cisco HyperFlex HX Data Platform Command Injection Vulnerability

What it is

Cisco HyperFlex HX Installer Virtual Machine contains an insufficient input validation vulnerability which could allow an attacker to execute commands on an affected device as the tomcat8 user.

Added November 3, 2021Due November 17, 2021CISA KEV catalog 2026.10.01

Vendor
Cisco
Product
HyperFlex HX
Added to KEV
November 3, 2021
CISA due date
November 17, 2021
Ransomware use
Unknown

What CISA requires

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Forensic triage

No

What to do now

  1. Find every instance of HyperFlex HX you run, including the forgotten ones, and check its version against the vendor advisory.
  2. Apply the vendor's fix or mitigation, before November 17, 2021 if you are bound by CISA's deadline, sooner if it faces the internet.
  3. Assume it was tried against you already: look for signs of exploitation from the date it was added, not from the day you patched.
  4. Until every instance is patched, block the attack at the edge: a WAF in blocking mode stops OS command injection payloads, including Shellshock.

References

CVE-2021-1498 in the National Vulnerability Database

The Dome

Block it at the edge while you patch

The Dome's WAF runs the OWASP Core Rule Set in blocking mode and stops OS command injection payloads, including Shellshock before they reach your application.

See the Dome

T Academy

Train the engineers who fix it

Security engineering on real hosts in the browser, every objective checked on the machine. The first two lessons of Linux 1 are free.

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Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (public domain), catalog version 2026.10.01.