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Ios XeOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2019-12662

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-09-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Cisco NX-OS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with valid administrator or privilege level 15 credentials to load a virtual service image and bypass signature verification on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper signature verification during the installation of an Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) image. An authenticated, local attacker could exploit this vulnerability and load a malicious, unsigned OVA image on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow an attacker to perform code execution on a crafted software OVA image.

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

A vulnerability in Cisco NX-OS and IOS XE Software allows an authenticated local attacker with administrator or privilege level 15 credentials to bypass signature verification when installing Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) images. This enables loading of malicious unsigned OVA images, leading to arbitrary code execution on affected devices.

MitigationApply Cisco patches for this vulnerability. Restrict administrative access to trusted personnel only, implement strict change management for virtual service image installations, and monitor for unauthorized OVA image loads.

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
Ios XeOperating system
Affected:= 16.8.1
Nx OsOperating system
Affected:= 8.1\(0.2\)s0= 8.1\(1\)= 8.1\(1\)s5= 8.1\(0\)bd\(0.20\)
Nexus 3016 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Nexus 3048 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Nexus 3064 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Nexus 3064 T FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Nexus 31108pc V FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Nexus 31108tc V 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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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. Check the installed NX-OS version
    Run 'show version' command on the Cisco Nexus device and look for the NX-OS software version in the output
    Affected if The version matches = 8.1(0.2)s0, = 8.1(1), = 8.1(1)s5, or = 8.1(0)bd(0.20), or the device is a Nexus 3016, 3048, 3064, 3064T, 31108pc V, or 31108tc V running any firmware version
  2. Check the installed IOS XE version
    Run 'show version' command on the Cisco IOS XE device and look for the software version
    Affected if The version is exactly 16.8.1
  3. Verify if Virtual Services or OVA installation feature is available
    Run 'show virtual-service list' or 'show installable' command to see if the device supports virtual appliance installations
    Affected if The device supports OVA/virtual service installation and the device is in the affected version or model list
  4. Check for recent OVA or virtual service installation logs
    Run 'show virtual-service log' or review system logs for recent OVA image installation events using 'show log' command
    Affected if Unsigned or unauthorized OVA images have been installed on the device
  5. Check administrative user accounts and privilege levels
    Run 'show users' and 'show privilege' to see currently logged-in users and their privilege levels
    Affected if Accounts with privilege level 15 exist and the device meets the affected version criteria

The environment is affected if the device runs any of the specific NX-OS versions (8.1(0.2)s0, 8.1(1), 8.1(1)s5, 8.1(0)bd(0.20)), IOS XE version 16.8.1, or is one of the Nexus models (3016, 3048, 3064, 3064T, 31108pc V, 31108tc V) with any firmware version, and has OVA installation capability accessible to administrator-level users.

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 patches for this vulnerability. Restrict administrative access to trusted personnel only, implement strict change management for virtual service image installations, and monitor for unauthorized OVA image loads.

Fix this in Ios Xe Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2019-12662 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