Nx OsOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2019-1608
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 CLI of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system of an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of arguments passed to certain CLI commands. 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 operating system with elevated privileges. An attacker would need valid administrator credentials to exploit this vulnerability. MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches are affected in versions prior to 6.2(27), 8.1(1b), and 8.3(1). Nexus 7000 and 7700 Series Switches are affected in versions prior to 6.2(22), 7.3(3)D1(1), and 8.2(3).
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 is a command injection vulnerability in the Cisco NX-OS CLI where insufficient validation of arguments passed to certain CLI commands allows an authenticated local attacker with administrator credentials to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with elevated privileges. The attacker exploits this by including malicious input as arguments to affected commands.
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
>= 8.2, < 8.3\(1\)>= 7.3, < 8.1\(1b\)>= 5.2, < 6.2\(27\)> 8.0, < 8.2\(3\)> 7.2, < 7.3\(3\)d1\(1\)< 6.2\(22\)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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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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Determine Cisco NX-OS versionLog into the device CLI and run 'show version' command. Look for the software version number in the output.Affected if The displayed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 8.2 but < 8.3(1); >= 7.3 but < 8.1(1b); >= 5.2 but < 6.2(27); > 8.0 but < 8.2(3); > 7.2 but < 7.3(3)D1(1); or < 6.2(22)
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Confirm the device is a Nexus or MDS seriesThe 'show version' output also displays the hardware platform. Verify if it is a Cisco Nexus 7000/7700 Series switch or MDS 9000 Series switch.Affected if The device is a Nexus 7000/7700 or MDS 9000 Series running an affected NX-OS version from step 1
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Verify local administrator access existsThis vulnerability requires an authenticated local attacker with administrator credentials. Determine if local user accounts with administrator privileges exist on the system using 'show user account' or by reviewing AAA configuration.Affected if Local authentication with administrator-level privileges is configured or possible on the device
You are affected if your Cisco Nexus or MDS device runs an NX-OS version in the affected ranges AND allows local authentication with administrator credentials, since the attacker needs both conditions to exploit this command injection flaw.
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 data6.27.38.1
Upgrade Cisco NX-OS software to version 6.2(27) or later for MDS 9000 Series, or 6.2(22)/7.3(3)D1(1)/8.2(3) or later for Nexus 7000/7700 Series. Restrict administrator access to trusted personnel only.
Fix this in Nx Os
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-1608 — 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-2019-1608 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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