Application Control Engine SoftwareApplication · Cisco
CVE-2016-1297
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 · uneditedThe Device Manager GUI in Cisco Application Control Engine (ACE) 4710 A5 before A5(3.1) allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended RBAC restrictions and execute arbitrary CLI commands with admin privileges via an unspecified parameter in a POST request, aka Bug ID CSCul84801.
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 confidenceThe Device Manager GUI in Cisco Application Control Engine (ACE) 4710 contains an RBAC bypass vulnerability in versions A5 before A5(3.1). Authenticated remote users can execute arbitrary CLI commands with admin privileges by manipulating an unspecified parameter in a POST request, effectively escalating privileges beyond their assigned role.
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
Application Control Engine SoftwareApplication
= a5\(1.0\)= a5\(1.1\)= a5\(1.2\)= a5\(2.0\)= a5\(2.1\)= a5\(2.1e\)= a5\(3.0\)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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the device modelAccess the CLI and run 'show version' or check the hardware label to confirm the device is a Cisco ACE 4710.Affected if The device is not a Cisco ACE 4710 (other models are not affected by this CVE).
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Determine the installed software versionRun 'show version' in the CLI and locate the software version string. It will appear as A5(x.y) where x.y is the version number.Affected if The version is A5(1.0), A5(1.1), A5(1.2), A5(2.0), A5(2.1), A5(2.1e), or A5(3.0). Versions A5(3.1) and later are not affected.
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Verify Device Manager GUI is enabledRun 'show running-config http-server' or access the GUI login page on port 443/tcp to confirm the HTTP/HTTPS management interface is active.Affected if The Device Manager GUI is accessible and running.
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Confirm RBAC is configuredRun 'show running-config role' or 'show role' to check if Role-Based Access Control policies are defined on the device.Affected if RBAC is configured and user roles are defined (the vulnerability bypasses these role restrictions).
Your environment is affected if you are running Cisco ACE 4710 with software version A5(1.0) through A5(3.0), the Device Manager GUI is enabled, and RBAC is configured.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade Cisco ACE 4710 to version A5(3.1) or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict network access to the Device Manager GUI using ACLs and monitor for unauthorized administrative actions.
Fix this in Application Control Engine Software
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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 locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-1297 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-1297 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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