dbcve.org
Secure Access Control SystemApplication · Cisco

CVE-2014-0649

HIGH · 9.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-01-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.4.0.46.6 or later.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
The RMI interface in Cisco Secure Access Control System (ACS) 5.x before 5.5 does not properly enforce authorization requirements, which allows remote authenticated users to obtain superadmin access via a request to this interface, aka Bug ID CSCud75180.

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

The RMI interface in Cisco Secure Access Control System (ACS) 5.x before 5.5 fails to properly enforce authorization requirements, allowing any remote authenticated user to escalate privileges to superadmin level by sending a specific request to the RMI interface.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco ACS to version 5.5 or later, or apply the vendor-supplied patch for bug ID CSCud75180 to remediate this authorization bypass vulnerability.

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
Secure Access Control SystemApplication
Affected:<= 5.4.0.46.6= 5.1= 5.1.0.44= 5.1.0.44.1= 5.1.0.44.2= 5.1.0.44.3= 5.1.0.44.4= 5.1.0.44.5= 5.2= 5.2.0.26= 5.2.0.26.1= 5.2.0.26.2

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
Single
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify if Cisco ACS is installed
    Check for the presence of Cisco ACS by looking for installation directories (typically under /opt/CSCOacs or C:\Program Files\Cisco) or by querying running processes for 'acs' or 'CiscoACS' services.
    Affected if Cisco Secure Access Control System software is found on the system
  2. Determine the installed Cisco ACS version
    Run the command 'show version' from the ACS CLI interface, or check the version displayed in the ACS web interface under Administration > System Configuration > Product License, or inspect the file 'VERSION' in the ACS installation directory.
    Affected if The installed version is 5.1, 5.1.0.44.x, 5.2, 5.2.0.26.x, or any version <= 5.4.0.46.6
  3. Verify RMI interface exposure
    From the ACS CLI, run 'show interface' or check the web interface under Deployment > Deployment > Interface Configuration to confirm if the RMI service is enabled and listening on the network.
    Affected if The RMI interface is enabled and accessible over the network
  4. Check for unauthorized superadmin accounts
    In the ACS web interface, navigate to Users and Identity Stores > Internal Identity Stores > Users, or use the CLI command 'show running-config | include user' to list all local users. Look for any unexpected accounts with superadmin privileges.
    Affected if There are superadmin accounts that were not created by legitimate administrators

A system is affected if Cisco ACS versions 5.1 through 5.4.0.46.6 are installed with the RMI interface enabled and there are unauthorized superadmin accounts present.

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 5.4.0.46.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Cisco ACS to version 5.5 or later, or apply the vendor-supplied patch for bug ID CSCud75180 to remediate this authorization bypass vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Cisco Secure Access Control System 5.5 or later

  1. 1. Back up the current Cisco ACS configuration using the backup feature in the web interface or CLI.
  2. 2. Download Cisco Secure Access Control System version 5.5 or later from the Cisco software download center.
  3. 3. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade may require system downtime.
  4. 4. Access the ACS admin console and navigate to the System Administration > Operating System/Application Update section.
  5. 5. Upload the new software image and initiate the upgrade.
  6. 6. After upgrade completes, verify the version number matches the expected fixed release.
  7. 7. Test that RMI interface authorization is now properly enforced by attempting authorized operations as a non-superadmin user.
  8. 8. Confirm existing users retain correct permission levels and superadmin access is properly restricted.
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for version 5.5 for any configuration changes or migration requirements; some legacy RMI client configurations may need updating

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

Fix this in Secure Access Control System 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-2014-0649 — 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-2014-0649 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