CVE-2021-42854Network attack vector

Unauthenticated file read/write/delete via PluginServlet path traversal

Published Mar 9, 2022 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Path traversal in Riverbed AppInternals DSA before 11.8.8 or 12.13.0 allows remote attackers to read, write, or delete files. PluginServlet passes unvalidated input from the /api/appInternals/1.0/plugin/pmx endpoint into file-path handling, allowing traversal beyond its intended directory. No authentication or user interaction is required, and file operations remain bounded by the servlet process's filesystem permissions.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability1.57%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Path traversal in Riverbed AppInternals DSA before 11.8.8 or 12.13.0 allows remote attackers to read, write, or delete files. PluginServlet passes unvalidated input from the /api/appInternals/1.0/plugin/pmx endpoint into file-path handling, allowing traversal beyond its intended directory. No authentication or user interaction is required, and file operations remain bounded by the servlet process's filesystem permissions.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-42854
Published
Mar 9, 2022
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Riverbed Technology
Product
SteelCentral AppInternals Dynamic Sampling Agent
Classifications
CWE-20, CWE-22, T1005, T1565.001, T1485
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 9, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=10.x
  2. Affected versionversion=11.8.8 <11.8.8
  3. Affected versionversion=12.13.0 <12.13.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Riverbed Technology · SteelCentral AppInternals Dynamic Sampling Agentversion=10.x; version=11.8.8 <11.8.8; version=12.13.0 <12.13.0

Published CVSS scores

9.8National Institute of Standards and TechnologyCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.8Government Technology Agency of Singapore Cyber Security GroupCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.5National Institute of Standards and TechnologyAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
T1005Data from Local System
T1565.001Stored Data Manipulation
T1485Data Destruction

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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