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Nx OsOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2019-12717

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-09-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.0 / 7.3 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 a CLI command related to the virtualization manager (VMAN) in Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying Linux operating system with root privileges. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of arguments passed to a specific VMAN CLI command on an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by including malicious input as the argument of an affected command. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying Linux operating system with root privileges, which may lead to complete system compromise. An attacker would need valid administrator credentials to exploit this vulnerability.

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

This is a command injection vulnerability in the Cisco NX-OS virtualization manager (VMAN) CLI. An authenticated administrator can inject arbitrary Linux commands through insufficiently validated arguments to a VMAN CLI command, achieving root-level code execution on the underlying OS and full system compromise.

MitigationApply the Cisco-supplied patch for this vulnerability. Until then, strictly limit administrator access, monitor for unusual CLI command patterns, and consider network segmentation to reduce exposure.

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
Nx OsOperating system
Affected:>= 6.0\(2\), < 7.0\(3\)i7\(6\)>= 9.2, < 9.2\(3\)>= 7.0\(3\)f, < 9.2\(3\)>= 7.0, < 7.3\(5\)n1\(1\)>= 6.2, < 8.0\(1\)

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify NX-OS version
    Run 'show version' on the device CLI and locate the NX-OS version string in the output
    Affected if The installed NX-OS version falls within any of these ranges: 6.0(2) up to but not including 7.0(3)i7(6); 7.0(3)f up to but not including 9.2(3); 7.0 up to but not including 7.3(5)n1(1); 6.2 up to but not including 8.0(1); 9.2 up to but not including 9.2(3)
  2. Verify VMAN feature status
    Run 'show feature | include vman' or 'show feature' and look for the virtualization manager (VMAN) feature in the enabled state
    Affected if The VMAN feature is listed as enabled (status = enabled) on the device
  3. Confirm administrative access method
    Review how administrators access the device: local console, SSH, or remote management. Check for any unexpected accounts or sessions.
    Affected if The device allows authenticated administrator access via any management interface, which is required to exploit this vulnerability
  4. Inspect VMAN configuration
    Run 'show running-config | include vman' or 'show virtual-service global' to review VMAN-related configuration entries
    Affected if VMAN is configured on the device, regardless of specific settings
  5. Review recent CLI command history
    Run 'show history' or check system logs for recent commands, focusing on virtual-service or VMAN-related commands with unusual patterns
    Affected if There are recent VMAN CLI commands containing unexpected characters or suspicious patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts

The system is affected if it runs a vulnerable NX-OS version (within the ranges listed) AND has the VMAN feature enabled, because only then can an authenticated administrator abuse the VMAN CLI to inject commands.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.0 / 7.3 / 8.0 or later
Fixed in 7.07.38.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the Cisco-supplied patch for this vulnerability. Until then, strictly limit administrator access, monitor for unusual CLI command patterns, and consider network segmentation to reduce exposure.

Fix this in Nx Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,160.

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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-2019-12717 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