Unified Computing SystemHardware / appliance · Cisco
CVE-2012-4102
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 · uneditedThe activate firmware command in the fabric-interconnect component in Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) allows local users to gain privileges by embedding commands in an unspecified parameter, aka Bug ID CSCtq02600.
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 · moderate confidenceLocal privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) fabric-interconnect component. The activate firmware command contains a command injection flaw in an unspecified parameter, allowing authenticated local users to execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges.
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 Computing SystemHardware / appliance
all versionsCVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Cisco UCS fabric-interconnect is in useIdentify if your environment contains Cisco Unified Computing System fabric-interconnect hardware. Check hardware inventory or running configuration for 'fabric-interconnect' module type.Affected if The system is a Cisco UCS fabric-interconnect device
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Verify local authentication is enabledCheck if local user accounts are configured on the UCS fabric-interconnect. Log into UCS Manager and navigate to Admin > User Management > Local Users to see if any local accounts exist.Affected if Local user accounts are configured on the fabric-interconnect
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Check firmware versionAccess UCS Manager, navigate to Equipment > Fabric Interconnect > Firmware, and record the active firmware version running on the fabric-interconnect.Affected if Any firmware version is running on the fabric-interconnect (all versions are affected)
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Confirm access to activate firmware commandDetermine if the local authenticated user has access to the 'activate firmware' command in UCS Manager. This is typically available under Admin > Firmware Management > Activate Firmware for users with admin privileges.Affected if Local authenticated users with firmware management privileges exist
You are affected if you run any version of Cisco UCS fabric-interconnect with local user authentication enabled and users who can access the activate firmware management function.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply Cisco-provided patches for CSCtq02600. Restrict physical and logical access to UCS fabric-interconnect management interfaces to trusted local administrators only. Follow least-privilege principles for local user accounts.
Fix this in Unified Computing System
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4102 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-4102 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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