Evolved Programmable Network ManagerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2016-1291

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-04-06
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
Cisco Prime Infrastructure 1.2.0 through 2.2(2) and Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager (EPNM) 1.2 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted deserialized data in an HTTP POST request, aka Bug ID CSCuw03192.

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

This is a Java deserialization vulnerability in Cisco Prime Infrastructure and Evolved Programmable Network Manager. Attackers send crafted deserialized data in HTTP POST requests to achieve arbitrary code execution on the affected systems, leveraging insecure deserialization of user-supplied data.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches or upgrade to a patched version of Cisco Prime Infrastructure (2.2(3) or later) and EPNM (1.2.1 or later). If patching is immediately infeasible, restrict network access to the management interfaces to minimize exposure.

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
Evolved Programmable Network ManagerApplication
Affected:= 1.2.0
Prime InfrastructureApplication
Affected:= 1.2= 1.2.0.103= 1.2.1= 1.3= 1.3.0.20= 1.4= 1.4.0.45= 1.4.1= 1.4.2= 2.0= 2.1.0= 2.2
OpensolarisOperating system
Affected:= snv_124

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. Identify installed Cisco product
    Access the management web interface or CLI and identify whether Cisco Prime Infrastructure or Evolved Programmable Network Manager is deployed. Check the product name displayed in the admin console or use 'show version' in the CLI.
    Affected if The product is either Cisco Prime Infrastructure or Evolved Programmable Network Manager
  2. Determine installed version
    For Prime Infrastructure, check the version via the web admin UI under Administration > Software Updates > Installed Software, or use the CLI command 'show version'. For EPNM, check via the web UI under Settings > Software Version or use 'show version' in the CLI.
    Affected if The detected version matches any of: EPNM 1.2.0; Prime Infrastructure 1.2, 1.2.0.103, 1.2.1, 1.3, 1.3.0.20, 1.4, 1.4.0.45, 1.4.1, 1.4.2, 2.0, 2.1.0, or 2.2
  3. Verify HTTP management interface is accessible
    Attempt to reach the web-based management interface over HTTP (port 8080 or 443) from a network location. Confirm the Cisco Prime Infrastructure or EPNM login page loads.
    Affected if The HTTP/HTTPS management interface is reachable from network segments where untrusted users could send POST requests
  4. Check Java deserialization endpoints
    Review HTTP access logs or proxy traffic for incoming POST requests to the management interface. The vulnerability is exploited via crafted serialized Java objects sent in the body of HTTP POST requests.
    Affected if Unexplained or suspicious serialized data patterns appear in HTTP POST traffic to the management interface

You are affected if you are running any of the listed versions of Cisco Prime Infrastructure or EPNM and your HTTP management interface is accessible to potential attackers.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches or upgrade to a patched version of Cisco Prime Infrastructure (2.2(3) or later) and EPNM (1.2.1 or later). If patching is immediately infeasible, restrict network access to the management interfaces to minimize exposure.

Fix this in Evolved Programmable Network Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2016-1291 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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