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Content Security Management ApplianceApplication · Cisco

CVE-2016-1411

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-12-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A vulnerability in the update functionality of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA), Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA), and Cisco Content Management Security Appliance (SMA) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to impersonate the update server. More Information: CSCul88715, CSCul94617, CSCul94627. Known Affected Releases: 7.5.2-201 7.6.3-025 8.0.1-023 8.5.0-000 8.5.0-ER1-198 7.5.2-HP2-303 7.7.0-608 7.7.5-835 8.5.1-021 8.8.0-000 7.9.1-102 8.0.0-404 8.1.1-013 8.2.0-222. Known Fixed Releases: 8.0.2-069 8.0.2-074 8.5.7-042 9.1.0-032 8.5.2-027 9.6.1-019.

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

A vulnerability in the update functionality of Cisco AsyncOS Software for Email Security Appliance (ESA), Web Security Appliance (WSA), and Content Management Security Appliance (SMA) allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to impersonate the update server. This could enable man-in-the-middle attacks during the update process, potentially leading to deployment of malicious updates to the appliances.

MitigationUpgrade affected Cisco AsyncOS devices to one of the known fixed releases (8.0.2-069, 8.0.2-074, 8.5.7-042, 9.1.0-032, 8.5.2-027, or 9.6.1-019) or later. If immediate patching is not possible, monitor update server connections and verify integrity of updates using available cryptographic verification mechanisms.

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
Content Security Management ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 9.1.0= 9.1.0-004= 9.1.0-031= 9.1.0-033= 9.1.0-103= 9.6.0
Email Security ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 7.5.2-201= 7.5.2-hp2-303= 7.6.3-025= 8.0.1-023= 8.5.0-000= 8.5.0-er1-198= 8.5.1-021
Web Security ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 7.7.0-608= 7.7.5-835= 8.8.0-000

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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. Identify the Cisco appliance type
    Log into the device CLI or web interface and determine whether the appliance is an Email Security Appliance (ESA), Web Security Appliance (WSA), or Content Security Management Appliance (SMA). Look at the system overview or product information screen.
    Affected if The device is an ESA, WSA, or SMA running AsyncOS firmware.
  2. Determine the installed AsyncOS version
    In the CLI, run the command 'version' or 'show version'. In the web interface, navigate to System Administration > System Setup > Version Information. Record the full version string shown (for example, 9.1.0 or 8.5.0-000).
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected versions listed for that appliance type.
  3. Confirm update functionality is configured
    In the web interface, go to System Administration > Update Settings or System Administration > AsyncOS Update Configuration. Verify that automatic updates or scheduled update checks are enabled.
    Affected if Update functionality is enabled or configured to connect to Cisco update servers.
  4. Compare installed version against affected list
    Match your recorded version exactly against the CVE-affected versions: SMA: 9.1.0, 9.1.0-004, 9.1.0-031, 9.1.0-033, 9.1.0-103, 9.6.0; ESA: 7.5.2-201, 7.5.2-hp2-303, 7.6.3-025, 8.0.1-023, 8.5.0-000, 8.5.0-er1-198, 8.5.1-021; WSA: 7.7.0-608, 7.7.5-835, 8.8.0-000
    Affected if The installed version exactly matches any version in the affected list for your appliance type.

Your environment is affected if you are running any of the listed ESA, WSA, or SMA versions AND the update feature is enabled.

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

Upgrade affected Cisco AsyncOS devices to one of the known fixed releases (8.0.2-069, 8.0.2-074, 8.5.7-042, 9.1.0-032, 8.5.2-027, or 9.6.1-019) or later. If immediate patching is not possible, monitor update server connections and verify integrity of updates using available cryptographic verification mechanisms.

Fix this in Content Security Management Appliance Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2016-1411 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