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Unified CallmanagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2007-5538

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-10-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Buffer overflow in the Centralized TFTP File Locator Service in Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM, formerly CallManager) 5.1 before 5.1(3), and Unified CallManager 5.0, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors involving the processing of filenames, aka CSCsh47712.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the Centralized TFTP File Locator Service of Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via malformed filename processing. The vulnerability affects CUCM 5.1 versions prior to 5.1(3) and Unified CallManager 5.0.

MitigationApply Cisco patch CSCsh47712 by upgrading to CUCM 5.1(3) or later, or migrate from the unsupported Unified CallManager 5.0 to a currently supported CUCM version. Restrict network access to the TFTP service as an interim compensating control.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Unified CallmanagerApplication
Affected:= 5.0
Unified Communications ManagerApplication
Affected:<= 5.1\(2\)

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed CUCM or Unified CallManager version
    Access the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration interface and navigate to System > Version, or run 'show version' via CLI on the CUCM server
    Affected if The displayed version is Cisco Unified CallManager 5.0 or Cisco Unified Communications Manager 5.1, 5.1(1), 5.1(2), or any version <= 5.1(2)
  2. Verify the Centralized TFTP File Locator Service is enabled
    In CUCM Administration, go to Cisco Unified Serviceability > Service Activation and verify if the 'Cisco TFTP' service is activated for the relevant node
    Affected if The TFTP service is activated and running on the affected CUCM or Unified CallManager version
  3. Confirm the TFTP service is exposed to network
    Check the server's listening ports using 'netstat -an | grep 69' or by reviewing firewall rules and access lists that permit UDP port 69 to the CUCM server
    Affected if The TFTP service (UDP port 69) is listening and accessible from network segments beyond the localhost

You are affected if your environment runs Cisco Unified CallManager 5.0 or CUCM version 5.1(2) or earlier AND has the TFTP service enabled and network-accessible.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.1
Interim mitigation

Apply Cisco patch CSCsh47712 by upgrading to CUCM 5.1(3) or later, or migrate from the unsupported Unified CallManager 5.0 to a currently supported CUCM version. Restrict network access to the TFTP service as an interim compensating control.

Recommended fix High confidence

Cisco Unified Communications Manager 5.1(3) or later (note: CUCM 5.0 has no specified fix; migrate to supported release)

  1. Verify current CUCM/Unified CallManager version by accessing Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration page or running 'show version' CLI command
  2. For Unified CallManager 5.0: Note that no fixed version is specified in the advisory; upgrade to a supported CUCM release is required
  3. For CUCM 5.1.x: Upgrade to CUCM 5.1(3) or later to remediate this vulnerability
  4. Schedule maintenance window as upgrade will require system downtime
  5. Back up current configuration before performing upgrade
  6. Follow Cisco upgrade documentation for your specific version path
  7. After upgrade, verify the Centralized TFTP File Locator Service is functioning correctly
Caveat Major version upgrade may introduce compatibility changes with older IP phones, applications, or integrations; Cisco provides migration guides

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Unified Callmanager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-5538 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data