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Expressway SoftwareApplication · Cisco

CVE-2015-0653

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-03-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
The management interface in Cisco TelePresence Video Communication Server (VCS) and Cisco Expressway before X7.2.4, X8 before X8.1.2, and X8.2 before X8.2.2 and Cisco TelePresence Conductor before X2.3.1 and XC2.4 before XC2.4.1 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication via crafted login parameters, aka Bug IDs CSCur02680 and CSCur05556.

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

Authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco TelePresence VCS, Expressway, and Conductor management interfaces allows remote attackers to bypass authentication using crafted login parameters, gaining unauthorized administrative access to the system.

MitigationUpgrade to Cisco Expressway/VCS X7.2.4, X8.1.2, X8.2.2 or later; Conductor X2.3.1/XC2.4.1 or later. Until patched, restrict management interface access to trusted networks via firewall or ACLs.

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
Expressway SoftwareApplication
Affected:>= x7.2, < x7.2.4>= x8.1, < x8.1.2>= x8.2, < x8.2.2
Telepresence ConductorApplication
Affected:>= x2.3, < x2.3.1>= xc2.4, < xc2.4.1
Telepresence Video Communication Server SoftwareApplication
Affected:>= x7.2, < x7.2.4>= x8.1, < x8.1.2>= x8.2, < x8.2.2

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
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 product and version
    Access the management interface and navigate to System > Information, or use the CLI command 'version' to display the software version
    Affected if The displayed version falls within any of these ranges: Expressway x7.2 to x7.2.4, x8.1 to x8.1.2, x8.2 to x8.2.2; Conductor x2.3 to x2.3.1, xc2.4 to xc2.4.1; VCS x7.2 to x7.2.4, x8.1 to x8.1.2, x8.2 to x8.2.2
  2. Confirm the management interface is accessible
    Verify that the web management interface (HTTP/HTTPS on port 443 or 8443) is reachable from network segments where untrusted users could send requests
    Affected if The management interface is exposed to untrusted networks without firewall or ACL restrictions
  3. Check for signs of unauthorized access
    Review system logs under Maintenance > Diagnostics > Log Files for failed login attempts followed by successful administrative actions from the same source IP, or look for unexpected user accounts or configuration changes
    Affected if Administrative actions were performed from IPs that did not successfully complete proper authentication

A system is affected if it runs any of the listed product versions AND has its management interface accessible from networks with untrusted 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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to Cisco Expressway/VCS X7.2.4, X8.1.2, X8.2.2 or later; Conductor X2.3.1/XC2.4.1 or later. Until patched, restrict management interface access to trusted networks via firewall or ACLs.

Recommended fix High confidence

Expressway/VCS: X7.2.4, X8.1.2, or X8.2.2 (depending on your major version); Telepresence Conductor: X2.3.1 or XC2.4.1

  1. Identify the currently installed version of Cisco Expressway, VCS, or TelePresence Conductor by accessing the management interface
  2. Download the appropriate fixed version from Cisco: X7.2.4, X8.1.2, or X8.2.2 for Expressway/VCS; X2.3.1 or XC2.4.1 for TelePresence Conductor
  3. Review Cisco's upgrade documentation for your specific product
  4. Apply the upgrade following Cisco's standard upgrade procedure
  5. Verify the upgrade was successful and the management interface is functioning correctly
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for any specific migration considerations between major versions

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

Fix this in Expressway Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,780
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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-2015-0653 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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