Application Policy Infrastructure ControllerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2016-6413
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 installation procedure on Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) devices 1.3(2f) mishandles binary files, which allows local users to obtain root access via unspecified vectors, aka Bug ID CSCva50496.
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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco APIC version 1.3(2f) where the installation procedure improperly handles binary files, allowing a local authenticated user to gain root access to the underlying system.
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 Policy Infrastructure ControllerApplication
= 1.3\(2f\)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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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 installed productCheck if the system is running Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC). This can typically be verified via the system GUI under 'System' > 'Controllers' or via CLI using 'show version' or 'acidiag avread' command.Affected if The system is NOT Cisco APIC - then not affected. If it IS Cisco APIC, proceed to version check.
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Verify the exact APIC firmware versionRun 'show version' or check the APIC GUI under 'System' > 'Controllers' > 'Controller' to confirm the installed firmware version is exactly 1.3(2f).Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.3(2f) - this version is affected by the vulnerability. Other versions (including 1.3(2) or 1.3(3)) are NOT affected.
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Confirm presence of local authenticated usersCheck for local user accounts on the APIC. This can be done via the GUI under 'System' > 'Users' > 'Local Users' or via API query to AAA local authentication settings. Also verify if any remote authentication (RADIUS/TACACS+) is configured.Affected if Local authenticated user accounts exist on the APIC. The vulnerability allows ANY local authenticated user to escalate to root, so presence of local users (even read-only) indicates exposure.
You are affected if your system is Cisco APIC running exactly version 1.3(2f) and has local user accounts configured for authentication.
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 dataApply the appropriate Cisco patch or upgrade to a fixed version of APIC firmware that resolves Bug ID CSCva50496. Until patched, restrict local access to trusted personnel only.
Fix this in Application Policy Infrastructure Controller
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6413 — 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-2016-6413 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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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.
- 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
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