Data Center Network ManagerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2019-15980
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 REST and SOAP API endpoints and the Application Framework feature of Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct directory traversal attacks on an affected device. To exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker would need administrative privileges on the DCNM application. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory. Note: The severity of these vulnerabilities is aggravated by the vulnerabilities described in the Cisco Data Center Network Manager Authentication Bypass Vulnerabilities advisory, published simultaneously with this one.
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 · moderate confidenceMultiple directory traversal vulnerabilities exist in Cisco DCNM's REST and SOAP API endpoints and Application Framework. An attacker with administrative privileges can use specially crafted API requests containing path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../') to access files outside the web root directory, potentially exposing sensitive system files or configuration data.
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
Data Center Network ManagerApplication
< 11.3\(1\)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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Cisco DCNM versionAccess the DCNM web interface and navigate to the About or Administration section, or use the 'show version' command via CLI if you have direct access to the DCNM server.Affected if The displayed version number is lower than 11.3(1)
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Confirm REST API endpoint accessibilityAttempt to access the DCNM REST API endpoint (typically at /rest/ or /api/ relative to the DCNM base URL) using a web browser or curl command from an authorized network.Affected if The REST API responds with data or authentication prompts, indicating the endpoint is exposed and reachable
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Confirm SOAP API endpoint accessibilityAttempt to access the DCNM SOAP API endpoint (typically at /soap/ or /webservices/ relative to the DCNM base URL) using a web browser or curl command from an authorized network.Affected if The SOAP API responds with data or authentication prompts, indicating the endpoint is exposed and reachable
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Verify administrative access existsCheck if you have valid administrative credentials for the DCNM platform by attempting to log into the web interface or authenticate against the API endpoints.Affected if Administrative-level credentials are valid and functional within the DCNM system
Your environment is affected if the installed DCNM version is below 11.3(1) AND the REST or SOAP API endpoints are accessible with administrative credentials, as the path traversal vulnerability requires both conditions to be exploitable.
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 data11.3
Apply the relevant Cisco security patch or upgrade to a fixed DCNM version. Restrict administrative access to trusted IP addresses and implement strict input validation on API endpoints to block traversal sequences.
Fix this in Data Center Network Manager
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-15980 — 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-2019-15980 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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