dbcve.org
Identity Services Engine SoftwareApplication · Cisco

CVE-2015-6323

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-01-15
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 Admin portal in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) 1.1.x, 1.2.0 before patch 17, 1.2.1 before patch 8, 1.3 before patch 5, and 1.4 before patch 4 allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access via unspecified vectors, aka Bug ID CSCuw34253.

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 confidence

Critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco ISE Admin portal allows remote unauthenticated attackers to gain full administrative access. The vulnerability affects versions 1.1.x, 1.2.0 before patch 17, 1.2.1 before patch 8, 1.3 before patch 5, and 1.4 before patch 4.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches for the respective Cisco ISE version (patch 17 for 1.2.0, patch 8 for 1.2.1, patch 5 for 1.3, patch 4 for 1.4). Upgrade from end-of-life 1.1.x to a supported version.

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 Engine SoftwareApplication
Affected:= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.3= 1.1.4= 1.1_base= 1.2\(0.747\)= 1.2\(0.793\)= 1.2\(1.198\)= 1.2\(1.901\)= 1.2.0.899= 1.2.1= 1.2_base

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 version via CLI
    Log into the Cisco ISE CLI and run the command 'show version' to retrieve the installed software version and patch level.
    Affected if The displayed version falls within 1.1.x, 1.2.0 before patch 17, 1.2.1 before patch 8, 1.3 before patch 5, or 1.4 before patch 4.
  2. Determine version via Admin UI
    Log into the Cisco ISE Administrative UI, navigate to Administration > System > Settings > Server Settings, and note the version and build number displayed.
    Affected if The version shown matches any of the vulnerable version ranges listed in the CVE.
  3. Confirm Admin portal is enabled
    In the Admin UI, verify that the Administration Node is enabled and the Admin portal is accessible by attempting to reach the ISE admin web interface.
    Affected if The Admin portal is accessible and the version falls within the affected ranges.
  4. Check patch level in running configuration
    In the CLI, run 'show application status ise' to see running processes and verify the patch installation status, or check the exact patch version in the Admin UI under Administration > System > Upgrade > Patch Setup.
    Affected if The installed patch level is lower than the required threshold for your version (patch 17 for 1.2.0, patch 8 for 1.2.1, patch 5 for 1.3, patch 4 for 1.4).

You are affected if your Cisco ISE version is 1.1.x, or 1.2.0/1.2.1/1.3/1.4 at a patch level below the required minimum, and the Admin portal is accessible.

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

Apply the vendor-supplied patches for the respective Cisco ISE version (patch 17 for 1.2.0, patch 8 for 1.2.1, patch 5 for 1.3, patch 4 for 1.4). Upgrade from end-of-life 1.1.x to a supported version.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

ISE 1.2.0 with Patch 17, ISE 1.2.1 with Patch 8, ISE 1.3 with Patch 5, ISE 1.4 with Patch 4, or migrate to newer supported branch

  1. Identify the currently running ISE version using 'show version' in the admin CLI
  2. For ISE 1.2.0: Apply Patch 17 or later
  3. For ISE 1.2.1: Apply Patch 8 or later
  4. For ISE 1.3: Apply Patch 5 or later
  5. For ISE 1.4: Apply Patch 4 or later
  6. For ISE 1.1.x: Upgrade to a supported release branch (1.2 or later) as no patch is specified for 1.1.x
  7. After patching, verify the admin portal access controls are functioning correctly
  8. Review admin accounts for any unauthorized changes
Caveat Patching ISE requires maintenance window as services may restart; ensure backup before applying patches

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

Fix this in Identity Services Engine Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-6323 — 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-2015-6323 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