iOSOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2019-12650
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 · uneditedMultiple vulnerabilities in the web-based user interface (Web UI) of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute commands with elevated privileges on the affected device. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
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 confidenceMultiple vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS XE Web UI allow an authenticated remote attacker to execute commands with elevated privileges. The attack requires valid authentication to the Web UI interface, enabling the attacker to escalate from their current privileges to root/elevated level through the vulnerable web interface.
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
iOSOperating system
= 16.11.1
Ios XeOperating system
= 16.6.5= 17.1.1CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Cisco product and versionRun 'show version' on the device CLI to display the software version. Look for either 'Cisco IOS Software' or 'Cisco IOS XE Software' in the output and note the exact version number.Affected if The displayed version matches 16.11.1 (Cisco iOS) or 16.6.5 / 17.1.1 (Cisco IOS XE)
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Confirm the device is Cisco IOS XEIn the 'show version' output, verify the product line contains 'IOS XE' rather than plain 'IOS'. CVE-2019-12650 specifically affects the IOS XE Web UI component.Affected if The device runs Cisco IOS XE (not plain Cisco IOS)
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Check if Web UI is enabledRun 'show running-config | include ip http' to see if HTTP or HTTPS web interface is configured. Look for 'ip http server' or 'ip http secure server' lines in the configuration.Affected if Either 'ip http server' or 'ip http secure server' appears in the active configuration, meaning the Web UI is accessible
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Verify authentication method for Web UICheck 'show running-config | include aaa' to see if local or remote authentication is configured for the HTTP/HTTPS servlets. Also review 'show users' to see currently logged-in users.Affected if Web UI authentication is active (either local or remote AAA), allowing valid credentials to be used for exploit trigger
You are affected if the device runs Cisco IOS XE version 16.6.5 or 17.1.1 (or Cisco iOS 16.11.1), has the Web UI (HTTP/HTTPS server) enabled, and allows authenticated user access to that interface.
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 IOS XE software updates when available; if immediate patching is not possible, disable the Web UI interface if not required and restrict access to authorized personnel only through network segmentation or access controls.
Fix this in iOS
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-12650 — 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-2019-12650 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
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