CVE-2021-42855

Local privilege escalation via writable command mapping

Published Mar 9, 2022 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Improper access control in Riverbed AppInternals DSA 10.x, before 11.8.8, and before 12.13.0 allows local users to elevate privileges. The agent reads JSON ID-to-command mappings from .debug_command.config without protecting the file against low-privileged modification. A local user who can rewrite that mapping can cause the privileged agent to execute an attacker-selected command when the corresponding ID is processed.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper access control in Riverbed AppInternals DSA 10.x, before 11.8.8, and before 12.13.0 allows local users to elevate privileges. The agent reads JSON ID-to-command mappings from .debug_command.config without protecting the file against low-privileged modification. A local user who can rewrite that mapping can cause the privileged agent to execute an attacker-selected command when the corresponding ID is processed.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-42855
Published
Mar 9, 2022
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
Riverbed Technology
Product
SteelCentral AppInternals Dynamic Sampling Agent
Classifications
CWE-284, CWE-732, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 9, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 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 vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

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

7.8Government Technology Agency of Singapore Cyber Security GroupCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6National Institute of Standards and TechnologyAV:L/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-284Improper Access Control
CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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