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Unified Computing System Manager FirmwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2017-12243

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-11-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
High EPSS 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 Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) Manager, Cisco Firepower 4100 Series Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), and Cisco Firepower 9300 Security Appliance could allow an authenticated, local attacker to obtain root shell privileges on the device, aka Command Injection. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of string input in the shell application. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability through the use of malicious commands. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to obtain root shell privileges on the device. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvf20741, CSCvf60078.

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

Command injection vulnerability in Cisco UCS Manager, Firepower 4100 Series NGFW, and Firepower 9300 Security Appliance allows authenticated local attackers to obtain root shell privileges through improper validation of string input in the shell application. The attacker exploits insufficient input sanitization to execute malicious commands with elevated privileges.

MitigationApply Cisco software updates addressing CSCvf20741 and CSCvf60078 to patched versions. Restrict local administrative access and monitor for unauthorized root shell access attempts.

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
Unified Computing System Manager FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Firepower 9300 Security Appliance FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Firepower 4100 Next Generation Firewall FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the Cisco product model
    Run 'show version' or access the device management interface to confirm the model is Cisco UCS Manager, Firepower 4100 Series NGFW, or Firepower 9300 Security Appliance
    Affected if The device model is any version of UCS Manager, Firepower 4100, or Firepower 9300
  2. Check the firmware version
    Run 'show version' to display the installed firmware version. Compare against Cisco's fixed release notes for CSCvf20741 and CSCvf60078
    Affected if The firmware version is any version prior to the patched releases addressing CSCvf20741 and CSCvf60078
  3. Verify local administrative access is enabled
    Check user accounts with local shell or CLI access using 'show running-config' or the device management GUI user administration section
    Affected if Local user accounts with shell/CLI access exist (the vulnerability requires authenticated local access)
  4. Audit recent command execution logs
    Review system logs, command history, or audit logs for unexpected commands or shell sessions, particularly those executed by users with elevated privileges
    Affected if Unrecognized commands or unexpected shell sessions appear in logs, especially commands that could indicate compromise
  5. Check for unauthorized root shell access
    Review authentication logs and session records for any root-level shell access that was not initiated by authorized administrators
    Affected if Root shell sessions exist that were not performed by known legitimate administrators

A user is affected if they are running any version of Cisco UCS Manager, Firepower 4100, or Firepower 9300 firmware prior to the patches for CSCvf20741 and CSCvf60078 and have local user accounts with CLI/shell access.

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 Cisco software updates addressing CSCvf20741 and CSCvf60078 to patched versions. Restrict local administrative access and monitor for unauthorized root shell access attempts.

Fix this in Unified Computing System Manager Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
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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-2017-12243 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