Identity Services EngineApplication · Cisco
CVE-2019-15255
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to bypass authorization and access sensitive information related to the device. The vulnerability exists because the software fails to sanitize URLs before it handles requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted URL. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information.
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 confidenceCisco ISE contains an authorization bypass vulnerability in its web-based management interface where the application fails to properly sanitize URLs before processing requests. An authenticated attacker can submit crafted URLs to access sensitive information beyond their authorized scope.
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
Identity Services EngineApplication
= 2.2= 2.2\(0.470\)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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 ISE versionAccess the Cisco ISE CLI and run the command 'show version' or 'show application version ise' to retrieve the installed software version.Affected if The installed version matches 2.2 or 2.2(0.470) exactly.
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Confirm web-based management interface is activeVerify the Cisco ISE web-based management interface (admin portal) is accessible and enabled by attempting to reach the HTTPS admin URL or checking via CLI with 'show running-config | include http'Affected if The web-based management interface is enabled and accessible.
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Review admin audit logs for URL anomaliesAccess Cisco ISE Operations > Reports > Audit Logs or use the CLI command 'show logging application ise-psn.log' to search for unusual URL patterns that may indicate path traversal or authorization bypass attempts.Affected if Audit logs show authenticated users accessing URLs outside their assigned role permissions.
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Check system logs for authorization failuresReview system logs via 'show logging system' or the ISE logging portal for repeated authorization failures or access attempts to administrative endpoints by non-privileged users.Affected if Logs reveal successful access to sensitive endpoints by users with limited privileges.
A user is affected if Cisco ISE version 2.2 or 2.2(0.470) is running with the web-based management interface enabled, and evidence exists of unauthorized URL-based access beyond the user's authorized scope.
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 the Cisco security update for CVE-2019-15255, which patches the URL sanitization logic in the web-based management interface.
Fix this in Identity Services Engine
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-15255 — 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-2019-15255 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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