dbcve.org
Asa 5500 FirmwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2019-1649

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-05-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.18 / 1.1.15 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 the logic that handles access control to one of the hardware components in Cisco's proprietary Secure Boot implementation could allow an authenticated, local attacker to write a modified firmware image to the component. This vulnerability affects multiple Cisco products that support hardware-based Secure Boot functionality. The vulnerability is due to an improper check on the area of code that manages on-premise updates to a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) part of the Secure Boot hardware implementation. An attacker with elevated privileges and access to the underlying operating system that is running on the affected device could exploit this vulnerability by writing a modified firmware image to the FPGA. A successful exploit could either cause the device to become unusable (and require a hardware replacement) or allow tampering with the Secure Boot verification process, which under some circumstances may allow the attacker to install and boot a malicious software image. An attacker will need to fulfill all the following conditions to attempt to exploit this vulnerability: Have privileged administrative access to the device. Be able to access the underlying operating system running on the device; this can be achieved either by using a supported, documented mechanism or by exploiting another vulnerability that would provide an attacker with such access. Develop or have access to a platform-specific exploit. An attacker attempting to exploit this vulnerability across multiple affected platforms would need to research each one of those platforms and then develop a platform-specific exploit. Although the research process could be reused across different platforms, an exploit developed for a given hardware platform is unlikely to work on a different hardware platform.

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

A logic flaw in Cisco's Secure Boot implementation allows an authenticated local attacker with privileged administrative access to write modified firmware to a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The vulnerability stems from an improper validation check in the code path that handles on-premise FPGA updates. Successful exploitation can either brick the device or tamper with Secure Boot verification, potentially allowing malicious software to boot.

MitigationApply Cisco-provided firmware updates that address the Secure Boot FPGA validation flaw. Restrict administrative access and monitor for unauthorized OS-level access that could be used as a stepping stone. Since exploitation requires both privileged access and platform-specific knowledge, prioritizing patches on exposed devices is critical.

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
Asa 5500 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.1.15
Firepower 2100 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 2.6.1.134
Firepower 4000 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.18
Firepower 9000 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.18
Ons 15454 Mstp FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 11.1
Analog Voice Network Interface Modules FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Integrated Services Router T1\/e1 Voice And Wan Network Interface Modules FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Supervisor A\+ FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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 checks

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

  1. Identify the device model and firmware version
    Use the CLI command 'show version' or access the device management interface to retrieve the exact model number and running firmware version
    Affected if The device model matches one of the affected product lines (ASA 5500, Firepower 2100/4000/9000, ONS 15454 MSTP, Analog Voice NIMs, ISR T1/e1 NIMs, Supervisor A+) and the firmware version is below the fixed release for that product
  2. Confirm the FPGA update capability is present
    Check if the device supports FPGA firmware updates through the administrative interface or CLI commands such as 'show hardware' or platform-specific FPGA version commands
    Affected if The device has FPGA components that can be updated on-premise
  3. Verify administrative access controls
    Review user accounts with privileged (enable/level 15) access and check for any unauthorized administrative sessions or changes to privilege levels
    Affected if Multiple privileged accounts exist or unauthorized privileged accounts are present that could perform FPGA updates
  4. Review system logs for FPGA-related operations
    Examine system logs, audit trails, or security logs for any FPGA firmware update, reload, or Secure Boot modification events that were not initiated by authorized administrators
    Affected if FPGA update events appear in logs without corresponding authorized administrative action
  5. Check for signs of device compromise or instability
    Look for unexpected device behavior, repeated reloads, boot failures, or Secure Boot verification errors in system logs and console output
    Affected if The device exhibits unexplained instability, boot issues, or Secure Boot validation failures

The device is affected if it matches an affected product model with a firmware version below the fixed release and has FPGA update capability accessible to privileged users

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 1.0.18 / 1.1.15 / 2.6.1.134 or later
Fixed in 1.0.181.1.152.6.1.134
Interim mitigation

Apply Cisco-provided firmware updates that address the Secure Boot FPGA validation flaw. Restrict administrative access and monitor for unauthorized OS-level access that could be used as a stepping stone. Since exploitation requires both privileged access and platform-specific knowledge, prioritizing patches on exposed devices is critical.

Fix this in Asa 5500 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2019-1649 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