CVE-2021-28501An issue has recently been discovered in Arista EOS where the incorrect use of EOS's AAA API’s by the OpenConfig and TerminAttr agents could result in unrestricted access to the device for local users with nopassword configuration.
- 9.1CriticalCVSS base score
- 0.87%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 41% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
An issue has recently been discovered in Arista EOS where the incorrect use of EOS's AAA API’s by the OpenConfig and TerminAttr agents could result in unrestricted access to the device for local users with nopassword configuration.
Timeline
ID reserved
By Arista
- 10 months later
· 10 months later
Published
- 3 years later
· 3 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| AristaCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Critical9.1 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.1 | High7.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.87% · top 41% of all CVEs (13 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Critical 9.1.
Affected products
- affected 1.16.2 0
What to do
Solution: The recommended resolution is to upgrade to a remediated software version at your earliest convenience. Arista recommends customers move to the latest version of each release. To specifically address CVE-2021-28501 upgrade to TerminAttr v1.16.2 and later releases
Workaround: On the affected versions, all vulnerabilities can be mitigated by disabling OpenConfig gNMI/gNOI and OpenConfig RESTCONF and TerminAttr. If use of these agents is required, a hotfix employing a proxy service can be deployed.
Workaround: To mitigate CVE-2021-28501 with the continued use of the affected agents, a hotfix employing a proxy service can be deployed. The proxy is configured behind the gNMI/gNOI or RESTCONF server. The hotfix can be downloaded at https://www.arista.com/en/support/advisories-notices/sa-download/?sa=71-SecurityAdvisory0071Hotfix.i386.swix for 32 bit systems and https://www.arista.com/en/support/advisories-notices/sa-download/?sa=71-SecurityAdvisory0071Hotfix.x86_64.swix for 64 bit systems.
References
References1
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2021-15177 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2021-28501)Record last updated .