Fabric Operating SystemOperating system · Broadcom

CVE-2019-16204

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-02-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.4.2f / 8.1.2j or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Brocade Fabric OS Versions before v7.4.2f, v8.2.2a, v8.1.2j and v8.2.1d could expose external passwords, common secrets or authentication keys used between the switch and an external server.

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

Brocade Fabric OS versions before v7.4.2f, v8.2.2a, v8.1.2j and v8.2.1d contain a vulnerability that could expose external passwords, secrets, or authentication keys used for communication between the switch and external servers.

MitigationUpgrade Brocade Fabric OS to version v7.4.2f, v8.2.2a, v8.1.2j, v8.2.1d or later to remediate the vulnerability.

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
Fabric Operating SystemOperating system
Affected:< 7.4.2f>= 8.1.2, < 8.1.2j>= 8.2.1, < 8.2.1d>= 8.2.2, < 8.2.2a

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the installed Fabric OS version
    Run the command `version` or `firmwareShow` on the switch CLI to retrieve the current firmware version
    Affected if The version displayed is before v7.4.2f, or falls in the ranges v8.1.2 to v8.1.2j, v8.2.1 to v8.2.1d, or v8.2.2 to v8.2.2a
  2. Compare version against affected ranges
    Map your installed version to the following vulnerable ranges: < 7.4.2f; >= 8.1.2 and < 8.1.2j; >= 8.2.1 and < 8.2.1d; >= 8.2.2 and < 8.2.2a
    Affected if Your version matches any of these ranges
  3. Identify external server configurations
    Review switch configuration for entries defining external servers such as backup servers, syslog servers, LDAP/AAA authentication servers, or fabric-wide management interfaces
    Affected if Any external server entries with associated credentials, secrets, or keys exist in the configuration
  4. Inspect credential storage mechanisms
    Examine configuration files or the output of `configShow` for parameters related to remote authentication, backup paths, or API keys used for external communication
    Affected if Plaintext or weakly protected passwords, secrets, or authentication keys are visible in the configuration data

You are affected if your Fabric OS version falls within the vulnerable version ranges AND the switch is configured to communicate with external servers using stored credentials or secrets.

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 7.4.2f / 8.1.2j / 8.2.1d or later
Fixed in 7.4.2f8.1.2j8.2.1d
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Brocade Fabric OS to version v7.4.2f, v8.2.2a, v8.1.2j, v8.2.1d or later to remediate the vulnerability.

Fix this in Fabric Operating System Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,970
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-16204 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-16204 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