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Elastic Services ControllerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2019-1867

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-05-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A vulnerability in the REST API of Cisco Elastic Services Controller (ESC) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication on the REST API. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of API requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted request to the REST API. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary actions through the REST API with administrative privileges on an affected system.

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

The vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication in the Cisco Elastic Services Controller REST API due to improper validation of API requests. Successful exploitation grants the attacker administrative privileges, enabling execution of arbitrary actions through the API.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided patch for CVE-2019-1867. If no patch is available, restrict network access to the ESC REST API via firewall rules or disable external API access until remediation is possible.

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
Elastic Services ControllerApplication
Affected:>= 4.1, < 4.5

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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 if Cisco Elastic Services Controller is present
    Locate the ESC installation directory or check running services. Common locations include /opt/cisco/esc or checking for processes named 'esc' or 'elastic-services-controller'. Use commands like 'ps aux | grep -i esc' or review installed software packages.
    Affected if Cisco Elastic Services Controller software is found running or installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed version
    Run the command 'escadm show version' or check the version file in the ESC installation directory, typically found in /opt/cisco/esc/esc_version or via 'rpm -q elastic-services-controller' if installed via RPM.
    Affected if The version number is >= 4.1 and < 4.5
  3. Verify REST API is accessible
    Check the ESC configuration files (typically in /opt/cisco/esc/conf/ or /etc/esc/conf/) for API endpoint settings. Look for 'rest_api_enabled' or 'api_port' configuration entries. Test connectivity by attempting to reach the API endpoint on the configured port (default 8080 or 8443).
    Affected if The REST API is enabled and network-accessible (listening on an interface other than localhost)
  4. Check API authentication configuration
    Review the ESC configuration file for 'authentication' or 'auth' settings in the REST API section. Look for entries like 'enable_auth' or similar flags that control whether API authentication is enforced.
    Affected if Authentication validation is set to disabled or weak validation is configured for the REST API endpoints

A system is affected if Cisco Elastic Services Controller version 4.1 through 4.4.x is installed with the REST API enabled and accessible, allowing potential unauthenticated API access.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.5 or later
Fixed in 4.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided patch for CVE-2019-1867. If no patch is available, restrict network access to the ESC REST API via firewall rules or disable external API access until remediation is possible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Cisco Elastic Services Controller 4.5 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Cisco Elastic Services Controller by checking the system or API documentation.
  2. 2. Verify the current version is >= 4.1 and < 4.5, which confirms the system is vulnerable.
  3. 3. Plan for upgrade during a maintenance window as the REST API service may require a restart.
  4. 4. Back up current configuration and any relevant data before proceeding with the upgrade.
  5. 5. Download Cisco Elastic Services Controller version 4.5 or later from the Cisco software download page.
  6. 6. Follow the official Cisco ESC upgrade documentation to install version 4.5 or newer.
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the REST API is functioning correctly and authentication is properly enforced.
  8. 8. Test that unauthenticated requests to the REST API are now rejected as expected.
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for version 4.5 for any configuration or behavioral changes that may affect existing integrations

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Elastic Services Controller Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2019-1867 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