dbcve.org
Firesight System SoftwareApplication · Cisco

CVE-2016-6394

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-09-12
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
Session fixation vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Management Center and Cisco FireSIGHT System Software through 6.1.0 allows remote attackers to hijack web sessions via a session identifier, aka Bug ID CSCuz80503.

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

A session fixation vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Management Center and Cisco FireSIGHT System Software allows remote attackers to hijack web sessions by fixing or manipulating the session identifier before user authentication, enabling the attacker to assume control of the session after the user logs in.

MitigationApply the vendor patch for CSCuz80503 and upgrade to a version beyond 6.1.0. As an interim control, monitor for unauthorized session usage and consider implementing session ID regeneration upon authentication if not already enforced.

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
Firesight System SoftwareApplication
Affected:= 5.2.0= 5.2.0.1= 5.2.0.2= 5.2.0.3= 5.2.0.4= 5.2.0.5= 5.2.0.6= 5.2.0.8= 5.3.0= 5.3.0.1= 5.3.0.2= 5.3.0.3

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
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 installed Cisco FireSIGHT System Software version
    Access the FireSIGHT management console or use the command line interface (CLI) with admin privileges. Run 'show version' or navigate to System > About > Updates in the web interface to retrieve the installed software version.
    Affected if The displayed version matches any of these: 5.2.0, 5.2.0.1, 5.2.0.2, 5.2.0.3, 5.2.0.4, 5.2.0.5, 5.2.0.6, 5.2.0.8, 5.3.0, 5.3.0.1, 5.3.0.2, or 5.3.0.3
  2. Verify the web interface is enabled and accessible
    Confirm that the Firepower Management Center web interface (HTTPS on port 443 or custom configured port) is operational and reachable. Attempt to access the login page from a browser or validate HTTP/HTTPS listener status.
    Affected if The web interface is enabled and accessible, as session fixation targets web-based authentication sessions.
  3. Confirm session ID regeneration is not enforced after login
    Review the session management configuration in the FireSIGHT web interface under System > Administration > Users or examine the HTTP response headers during a login sequence. Look for evidence that session IDs are regenerated after successful authentication versus remaining fixed.
    Affected if The session identifier is not regenerated after successful authentication, allowing an attacker who fixed the ID prior to login to maintain control of the session.

You are affected if your Cisco FireSIGHT System Software version is any of the listed versions (5.2.0 through 5.3.0.3) and the web interface is accessible without session ID regeneration enforced after authentication.

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 patch for CSCuz80503 and upgrade to a version beyond 6.1.0. As an interim control, monitor for unauthorized session usage and consider implementing session ID regeneration upon authentication if not already enforced.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cisco Firepower Management Center / FireSIGHT System Software version 6.2.0 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current Cisco FireSIGHT System Software version by logging into the Firepower Management Center web interface and navigating to System > Updates, or via CLI using 'show version'
  2. 2. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade as this will require system downtime
  3. 3. Download the appropriate upgrade package from Cisco.com (requires valid CCO account) - obtain the upgrade ISO for a version beyond 6.1.0 such as 6.2.0 or later
  4. 4. Back up the current configuration via the web interface (System > Tools > Backup) or via CLI using 'configure.pl' backup functionality
  5. 5. Upload the upgrade package to the Firepower Management Center
  6. 6. Initiate the upgrade from the System > Updates page, selecting the uploaded package and confirming the installation
  7. 7. Allow the system to reboot automatically - this process may take 30-60 minutes
  8. 8. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking the version in the web interface or via 'show version' command
Caveat Upgrading major versions (5.x to 6.x) may require configuration adjustments; review Cisco migration guides and ensure compatibility with any integrated systems before upgrading in production

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

Fix this in Firesight System Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6394 — 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-2016-6394 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