CVE-2018-15386
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 Cisco Digital Network Architecture (DNA) Center could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and have direct unauthorized access to critical management functions. The vulnerability is due to an insecure default configuration of the affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by directly connecting to the exposed services. An exploit could allow the attacker to retrieve and modify critical system files.
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 confidenceCisco DNA Center contains an authentication bypass vulnerability where an insecure default configuration allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms and gain direct access to critical management functions, enabling them to retrieve and modify sensitive system files.
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= 1.1= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.3CVSS 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:3.1/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 installed Cisco DNA Center versionLog into the Cisco DNA Center administrative interface and navigate to System > Settings > About, or use the CLI command 'show version' if SSH access is availableAffected if The version displayed is 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, or 1.1.3
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Check for default authentication configurationReview the authentication configuration settings in the Cisco DNA Center admin panel under Administration > Settings > Authentication and Authorization. Look for settings that control default access or guest authentication that may bypass normal authenticationAffected if Default authentication settings that allow unauthenticated or guest access to management functions are enabled
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Verify management interface network exposureCheck network firewall or access control lists that protect the Cisco DNA Center management interface (typically ports 443, 8080, or the GUI interface). Determine if the management IP is directly accessible from untrusted networksAffected if The Cisco DNA Center management interface is exposed to untrusted networks or the internet without proper access controls
Your environment is affected if Cisco DNA Center version 1.1.x (1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, or 1.1.3) is installed AND the insecure default authentication configuration is present AND the management interface is network-accessible to attackers
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 Cisco's provided patch or configuration fix for the insecure default settings; restrict network exposure of management interfaces until patched.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-15386 — 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-2018-15386 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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- 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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