Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication · Cisco
CVE-2019-12674
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 multi-instance feature of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to escape the container for their FTD instance and execute commands with root privileges in the host namespace. These vulnerabilities are due to insufficient protections on the underlying filesystem. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by modifying critical files on the underlying filesystem. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute commands with root privileges within the host namespace. This could allow the attacker to impact other running FTD instances.
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 confidenceA container escape vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense's multi-instance feature allows an authenticated local attacker to modify critical filesystem files from within their FTD container, escaping container isolation to execute commands with root privileges on the host and potentially compromise other FTD instances.
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
Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication
< 6.4.0.2
Firepower 9300 FirmwareOperating system
all versions
Firepower 4115 FirmwareOperating system
all versions
Firepower 4125 FirmwareOperating system
all versions
Firepower 4145 FirmwareOperating system
all versions
Firepower 4110 FirmwareOperating system
all versions
Firepower 4120 FirmwareOperating system
all versions
Firepower 4140 FirmwareOperating system
all versionsCVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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 FTD installation and versionCheck the installed Firepower Threat Defense software version using 'show version' or the FTD CLI. Look for the FTD version number in the output.Affected if The installed version is below 6.4.0.2 (for FTD software) or the device is a Firepower 9300, 4115, 4125, 4145, 4110, 4120, or 4140 appliance running any firmware version.
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Confirm multi-instance feature is enabledAccess the FTD management interface or CLI and check the multi-instance configuration status. Look for 'multi-instance' or 'container' feature settings in the system configuration.Affected if The multi-instance feature is currently enabled on the FTD device.
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Verify presence of multiple container instancesList active container instances on the FTD device using appropriate CLI commands (such as 'show container' or 'show instances' in FTD). Check if more than one instance is running.Affected if Multiple FTD container instances are actively running on the device.
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Check for unauthorized filesystem modificationsReview host-level filesystem integrity by comparing current critical system files against known-good baselines. Inspect /var/lib/docker or container-related directories on the host for unexpected file changes.Affected if Critical host filesystem files have been modified from within a container context, indicating potential escape.
A system is affected if it runs Cisco FTD software below version 6.4.0.2 or is a Firepower 9300/4100 series appliance, has the multi-instance feature enabled, and has container instances configured, allowing a local authenticated attacker to potentially escape container isolation.
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 data6.4.0.2
Apply the Cisco FTD software patch addressing these container isolation vulnerabilities. Until patched, disable the multi-instance feature or limit local authentication access to trusted personnel only.
Fix this in Secure Firewall Threat Defense
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-12674 — 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-2019-12674 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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