dbcve.org
Identity Services EngineHardware / appliance · Cisco

CVE-2011-3290

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-09-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.0.4 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
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) before 1.0.4.MR2 has default Oracle database credentials, which allows remote attackers to modify settings or perform unspecified other administrative actions via unknown vectors, aka Bug ID CSCts59135.

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

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) versions prior to 1.0.4.MR2 ship with hardcoded default credentials for the embedded Oracle database. Attackers with network access to the ISE system can authenticate to the database using these default credentials and modify system settings or execute administrative operations.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco ISE to version 1.0.4.MR2 or later to eliminate the default Oracle credentials. If immediate patching is not possible, implement network segmentation to restrict access to the ISE management interfaces and disable external database access paths.

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
Identity Services EngineHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Identity Services Engine SoftwareApplication
Affected:<= 1.0.4= 1.0= 1.0mr

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. Determine Cisco ISE software version
    Log into the ISE admin UI and navigate to Administration > System > Logging > Debug Logs, or use the CLI command 'show version' to retrieve the installed software version.
    Affected if The installed version is any version prior to 1.0.4.MR2, or matches 1.0, 1.0mr, or versions <= 1.0.4.
  2. Identify Oracle database listener accessibility
    From a remote system, attempt to reach the ISE appliance on the Oracle TNS listener port (default 1521) using a port scan or telnet/netcat command to port 1521.
    Affected if The Oracle listener port is reachable from untrusted networks, indicating external database access is possible.
  3. Test default Oracle credentials
    Attempt to authenticate to the ISE Oracle database using known default credential pairs (such as system/manager or sys/change_on_install) via SQL*Plus or sqlcl connecting to the ISE TNS service.
    Affected if Authentication succeeds with any default Oracle credential pair, confirming the hardcoded credentials are still active.
  4. Verify network exposure of ISE management interface
    Review firewall rules, ACLs, or network segmentation to determine whether the ISE administration ports and database listener are accessible from outside the trusted network.
    Affected if The ISE system or its Oracle database port is accessible from untrusted network segments without proper filtering.

A system is affected if it runs Cisco ISE version prior to 1.0.4.MR2 (including 1.0, 1.0mr, or versions <= 1.0.4) and the Oracle database listener is network-accessible, allowing authentication with default credentials.

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 1.0.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Cisco ISE to version 1.0.4.MR2 or later to eliminate the default Oracle credentials. If immediate patching is not possible, implement network segmentation to restrict access to the ISE management interfaces and disable external database access paths.

Recommended fix High confidence

Cisco ISE version 1.0.4.MR2 or later

  1. Backup the current Cisco ISE configuration and database
  2. Download Cisco ISE version 1.0.4.MR2 or later from the Cisco official download page
  3. Review Cisco ISE upgrade documentation for the specific upgrade procedure
  4. Execute the upgrade following Cisco's documented upgrade process for ISE
  5. After upgrade, verify the ISE services are running correctly
  6. Change the default Oracle database credentials to strong, unique credentials
Caveat Major ISE upgrades may require configuration revalidation and could have compatibility impacts with integrated systems; test in non-production environment first

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

Fix this in Identity Services Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2011-3290 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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