Secure Firewall Threat DefenseApplication · Cisco
CVE-2019-12675
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 confidenceThis vulnerability in Cisco FTD's multi-instance feature allows an authenticated local attacker to escape their container by modifying critical files on the underlying filesystem. The insufficient filesystem protections between containers and the host namespace enable escalation to root privileges on the host, potentially impacting all running 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 the installed Cisco FTD versionUse the device's CLI or management interface to display the running software version. For hardware appliances (4110, 4120, 4140, 4115, 4125, 4145, 9300), check the firmware version. For virtual deployments, check the FTD software version.Affected if The version is less than 6.4.0.2 (for FTD software) or the firmware version is any version listed for the Firepower hardware models (all versions affected)
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Determine if multi-instance feature is enabledReview the FTD configuration to confirm whether the multi-instance feature is active. This may be visible in the system settings, container configuration, or instance management screens.Affected if Multi-instance feature is enabled on the device
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Check container filesystem isolation settingsExamine the multi-instance container configuration for filesystem mount points, namespace isolation settings, and privilege levels assigned to each instance.Affected if Containers lack proper filesystem isolation or run with elevated privileges that allow host filesystem access
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Verify user access to instance containersConfirm whether local authenticated users have access to the underlying container runtime or can modify container configuration files.Affected if Non-privileged or container-admin users can modify critical system files outside their assigned container
You are affected if your Cisco FTD version is below 6.4.0.2 (or is one of the listed Firepower hardware models at any version) AND the multi-instance feature is enabled with insufficient 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 Cisco's patch for this vulnerability (refer to Cisco PSIRT advisory) and ensure multi-instance deployments have proper filesystem isolation configurations.
Fix this in Secure Firewall Threat Defense
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-12675 — 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-2019-12675 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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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.
- 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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