dbcve.org
Unified Communications ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2013-6688

MEDIUM · 6.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-11-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.1 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
Directory traversal vulnerability in the license-upload interface in the Enterprise License Manager (ELM) component in Cisco Unified Communications Manager 9.1(1) and earlier allows remote authenticated users to create arbitrary files via a crafted path, aka Bug ID CSCui58222.

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

A directory traversal vulnerability exists in the Enterprise License Manager (ELM) component of Cisco Unified Communications Manager 9.1(1) and earlier. Authenticated remote users can upload license files through a crafted path specification, allowing arbitrary file creation on the filesystem outside the intended license upload directory.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco patch or upgrade to a supported CUCM version. Until then, restrict network access to the ELM interface to only trusted administrative IP addresses and monitor for suspicious file upload activity.

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 Communications ManagerApplication
Affected:<= 9.1\(1\)= 3.3\(5\)= 3.3\(5\)sr1= 3.3\(5\)sr2a= 4.1\(3\)= 4.1\(3\)sr1= 4.1\(3\)sr2= 4.1\(3\)sr3= 4.1\(3\)sr4= 4.2= 4.2.1= 4.2.2

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
M
Authentication
Single
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Complete
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:C/A:N

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 Cisco CUCM version
    Access the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration interface and navigate to About > Version, or run 'show version' via CLI if you have administrative access
    Affected if The installed version matches <= 9.1(1), 3.3(5) any sr, 4.1(3) any sr, 4.2 through 4.2.2, or is otherwise unknown but within these listed ranges
  2. Verify Enterprise License Manager is enabled
    Check if the ELM service is running and accessible by navigating to the ELM web interface (typically at /elm/ or similar path under the CUCM administration URL)
    Affected if ELM component is active and reachable over the network
  3. Confirm ELM authentication settings
    Review the ELM configuration to determine whether remote authentication is enabled and what user accounts have license upload privileges
    Affected if Remote authenticated users can access the license file upload functionality
  4. Inspect license upload directory
    Locate the expected license file upload directory (typically under the CUCM file system, often in /usr directory or similar) and enumerate all files present
    Affected if Unexpected files or directories exist outside the intended license upload path, or symbolic links pointing to arbitrary system locations are present
  5. Review access logs for ELM file uploads
    Examine CUCM system logs and ELM access logs for license upload requests, focusing on requests containing path traversal patterns such as '../' or absolute paths
    Affected if Log entries show license upload attempts with unusual path specifications or uploads to unexpected file locations

Your environment is affected if the installed Cisco CUCM version matches one of the listed affected versions AND the Enterprise License Manager component is accessible to authenticated remote users.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 9.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Cisco patch or upgrade to a supported CUCM version. Until then, restrict network access to the ELM interface to only trusted administrative IP addresses and monitor for suspicious file upload activity.

Fix this in Unified Communications Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-6688 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2013-6688 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data