Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco
CVE-2019-12638
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 web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks against a user of the web-based management interface. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input that is processed by the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user of the interface to click a crafted link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary script code in the context of the interface or access sensitive, browser-based information.
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 confidenceCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine web-based management interface. An authenticated attacker can inject malicious scripts through insufficiently validated user input, which then executes in the context of other users' browser sessions when they view the crafted content.
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
<= 2.2.0= 2.3= 2.3\(0.298\)= 2.4= 2.4\(0.357\)= 2.6\(0.156\)= 2.7\(0.999\)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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine Cisco ISE versionLog into the Cisco ISE admin CLI and run the command 'show version' or access the Administration > System > Settings > Product Version in the web UI to identify the installed version.Affected if The installed version matches <= 2.2.0, 2.3, 2.3(0.298), 2.4, 2.4(0.357), 2.6(0.156), or 2.7(0.999).
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Verify web-based management interface is enabledConfirm the Cisco ISE admin web interface is accessible by attempting to reach the management portal URL (typically https://<ise-host>/admin/). Check if the service is running via CLI command 'show application status ise' or equivalent.Affected if The web-based management interface is active and reachable.
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Confirm administrative access existsReview user accounts with administrative privileges in Cisco ISE (Administration > Identity Management > Identities > Users). The vulnerability requires an authenticated attacker, so any admin or privileged user account could be leveraged.Affected if At least one active administrative or privileged user account exists in the ISE system.
You are affected if your Cisco ISE version is one of the listed affected versions AND the web-based management interface is accessible with authenticated user accounts.
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 Cisco security patch for CVE-2019-12638. As a defense-in-depth measure, implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers and ensure proper input validation is enforced on the ISE management interface.
Fix this in Identity Services Engine
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-12638 — 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-2019-12638 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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