Elastic Services ControllerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2017-6713
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the Play Framework of Cisco Elastic Services Controller (ESC) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain full access to the affected system. The vulnerability is due to static, default credentials for the Cisco ESC UI that are shared between installations. An attacker who can extract the static credentials from an existing installation of Cisco ESC could generate an admin session token that allows access to all instances of the ESC web UI. This vulnerability affects Cisco Elastic Services Controller prior to releases 2.3.1.434 and 2.3.2. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvc76627.
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 confidenceCisco Elastic Services Controller contains static, default credentials in its Play Framework-based web UI that are identical across all installations. An unauthenticated remote attacker who extracts these credentials from any ESC instance can generate admin session tokens to gain full access to all affected ESC deployments.
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
Elastic Services ControllerApplication
= 1.0.0= 1.1.0= 2.0= 2.1.0= 2.2.0= 2.3.0CVSS 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
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 Cisco ESC installationLocate the Cisco Elastic Services Controller installation directory or running process. On Linux, common paths include /opt/cisco/esc or /usr/local/esc. Check for processes named 'esc' or 'elasticsearch' related to Cisco ESC.Affected if Cisco ESC software is present on the system
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Verify installed versionCheck the installed Cisco ESC version. This is typically found in a version file within the ESC installation directory, or by accessing the web UI and checking the about/help page, or running: /opt/cisco/esc/bin/escadm show versionAffected if Version is 1.0.0, 1.1.0, 2.0, 2.1.0, 2.2.0, or 2.3.0
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Confirm web UI is accessibleDetermine if the Play Framework-based web UI port is open and reachable. Check network listeners with 'netstat -an | grep 8080' or 'ss -tlnp | grep -E "8080|8443"' where ESC typically listens. Also verify firewall rules allow access.Affected if Web UI port is open and reachable from network
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Inspect credential configurationExamine ESC configuration files for hardcoded credentials. Look in conf/application.conf or similar Play Framework config files within the ESC installation directory for default admin accounts.Affected if Static default credentials are present in configuration files
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Review admin session logsExamine ESC web UI and system logs for admin session creation, particularly from unexpected IP addresses or outside normal operational windows. Check /opt/cisco/esc/logs/ for authentication events.Affected if Admin sessions exist that were not explicitly created by your organization
User is affected if running Cisco ESC versions 1.0.0 through 2.3.0 with the web UI accessible, as static default credentials can be exploited for unauthorized admin access.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade Cisco ESC to version 2.3.1.434 or 2.3.2 or later, and immediately rotate any potentially exposed credentials. Review access logs for unauthorized admin sessions.
2.3.1.434 or 2.3.2 (or later fixed release)
- Identify the current version of Cisco Elastic Services Controller by accessing the ESC admin UI or running the appropriate version command
- Backup all ESC configurations, policies, and operational data before upgrading
- Upgrade Cisco Elastic Services Controller to version 2.3.1.434 or 2.3.2 (or a later fixed release) following the official upgrade documentation
- After upgrade, verify the new version is running by checking the ESC admin UI or version command
- Change any default or shared credentials that may have been in use and ensure strong, unique credentials are configured for administrative access
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Elastic Services Controller
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $6,304.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-6713 — 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-2017-6713 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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