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Web Security ApplianceApplication · Cisco

CVE-2016-1296

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-01-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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 proxy engine on Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) devices with software 8.5.3-055, 9.1.0-000, and 9.5.0-235 allows remote attackers to bypass intended proxy restrictions via a malformed HTTP method, aka Bug ID CSCux00848.

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 Cisco Web Security Appliance proxy engine contains a vulnerability allowing remote attackers to bypass intended proxy restrictions by sending malformed HTTP methods. This authentication/authorization bypass affects specific versions (8.5.3-055, 9.1.0-000, 9.5.0-235) and could allow unauthorized traffic to pass through the proxy.

MitigationApply the appropriate Cisco WSA software update or patch that addresses this vulnerability. Organizations should review proxy access controls and monitor for anomalous traffic patterns until the fix is deployed.

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
Web Security ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 8.5.3-055= 9.1.0-000= 9.5.0-235

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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. Check Cisco WSA software version
    Log into the WSA admin interface or use CLI command 'version' to retrieve the installed software version
    Affected if Version equals 8.5.3-055, 9.1.0-000, or 9.5.0-235 exactly
  2. Confirm proxy service is enabled
    Access WSA admin GUI under Security Services > Proxy or run CLI command 'proxy config' to verify the proxy engine is active
    Affected if Proxy service is enabled and accepting connections
  3. Review proxy authentication settings
    Navigate to WSA admin GUI under Proxy > Authentication to inspect whether authentication is required for proxy requests
    Affected if Proxy allows unauthenticated or partially authenticated traffic through
  4. Audit proxy access policies
    Check proxy authorization policies in WSA under Proxy > Access Policies to see if restrictions rely on HTTP method validation
    Affected if Access policies use method-based rules without additional verification layers

User is affected if Cisco WSA is running exactly version 8.5.3-055, 9.1.0-000, or 9.5.0-235 with the proxy service enabled and accessible to users or traffic.

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 appropriate Cisco WSA software update or patch that addresses this vulnerability. Organizations should review proxy access controls and monitor for anomalous traffic patterns until the fix is deployed.

Fix this in Web Security Appliance Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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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-2016-1296 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