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Web Security ApplianceApplication · Cisco

CVE-2019-1816

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-05-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 log subscription subsystem of the Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform command injection and elevate privileges to root. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input on the web and command-line interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to the affected device and injecting scripting commands in the scope of the log subscription subsystem. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root.

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 confidence

Command injection vulnerability in Cisco WSA log subscription subsystem allows authenticated attackers to inject arbitrary OS commands through insufficiently validated user input in the web and CLI interfaces, enabling root privilege escalation.

MitigationApply the Cisco software update for WSA that addresses this vulnerability; restrict administrative access to trusted personnel only to reduce attack surface.

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
Web Security ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 10.5.2-072= 11.0.0-641= 11.5.0-fcs-614= wsa10.5.0-fcs-000

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Confirm Cisco WSA device
    Identify the appliance by checking the system dashboard, hostname, or running 'show version' in the CLI. Look for 'Cisco Web Security Appliance' or 'WSA' in the device identification.
    Affected if The device is a Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA)
  2. Check installed WSA version
    Run 'version' in the WSA CLI or view the version in the web interface under System Administration > System Upgrade. Compare the full version string to the affected versions: 10.5.2-072, 11.0.0-641, 11.5.0-fcs-614, and wsa10.5.0-fcs-000.
    Affected if The installed version exactly matches one of the four affected versions listed
  3. Verify administrative access is enabled
    Check if the web interface (GUI) or CLI is accessible by confirming ports 443/80 or SSH (port 22) are open and responding on the WSA. Use 'show interface' and 'show all' in CLI to confirm enabled management interfaces.
    Affected if Administrative web or CLI interfaces are exposed and accessible
  4. Confirm log subscription feature exists
    Navigate to the web interface and check for the Log Subscription configuration page (typically under System Administration > Log Subscriptions) or run 'logconfig' in the CLI to list configured log subscriptions.
    Affected if Log subscription functionality is present and configurable on the appliance

The environment is affected only if the device is a Cisco WSA running one of the four specific affected versions AND administrative interfaces are accessible; otherwise the vulnerability cannot be exploited.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Cisco software update for WSA that addresses this vulnerability; restrict administrative access to trusted personnel only to reduce attack surface.

Fix this in Web Security Appliance Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,570
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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-2019-1816 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