Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco

CVE-2016-6453

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-11-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable

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 web framework code of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary SQL commands on the database. More Information: CSCva46542. Known Affected Releases: 1.3(0.876).

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 SQL injection vulnerability in the web framework of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) allows an authenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary SQL commands on the database due to improper input sanitization in the web interface.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Cisco for CVE-2016-6453. Additionally, restrict administrative access to trusted networks, implement least-privilege accounts, and monitor database queries for suspicious activity.

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
Identity Services EngineApplication
Affected:= 1.3\(0.876\)

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 Cisco ISE version
    Access the Cisco ISE admin web interface and navigate to Administration > System > Settings > Product Version, or log into the ISE CLI and run the command 'show version' to determine the exact installed version
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.3(0.876)
  2. Confirm web framework is enabled
    Verify the Cisco ISE administrative web interface is operational by attempting to reach the login portal at the configured management IP address or hostname
    Affected if The web interface is accessible and functional (the vulnerability exists in the web framework)
  3. Validate administrative access exists
    In the ISE web interface, navigate to Administration > Identity Management > Identities > Users or Groups to confirm that administrative or super admin accounts are configured
    Affected if At least one authenticated user account with administrative privileges exists (authentication is required to exploit the SQL injection)

The environment is affected only if Cisco ISE version 1.3(0.876) is running, the web framework is accessible, and an attacker can authenticate with administrative credentials to the web interface

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 vendor patch from Cisco for CVE-2016-6453. Additionally, restrict administrative access to trusted networks, implement least-privilege accounts, and monitor database queries for suspicious activity.

Fix this in Identity Services Engine 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
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6453 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-6453 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