Application Policy Infrastructure ControllerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2019-1889
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 REST API for software device management in Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to escalate privileges to root on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to incomplete validation and error checking for the file path when specific software is uploaded. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading malicious software using the REST API. A successful exploit could allow an attacker to escalate their privilege level to root. The attacker would need to have the administrator role on the device.
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 confidenceThe vulnerability exists in the REST API for software device management in Cisco APIC. An authenticated administrator can upload malicious software files due to incomplete validation and error checking of file paths, allowing privilege escalation from administrator to root. This is a path traversal vulnerability in the file upload mechanism.
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
Application Policy Infrastructure ControllerApplication
= 4.1\(1j\)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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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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Identify the Cisco APIC installationAccess the APIC controller GUI or run 'show version' via CLI to confirm the device is Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure ControllerAffected if The device is not Cisco APIC (this CVE only applies to APIC)
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Check the installed APIC versionRun 'show version' on the APIC CLI or check the GUI dashboard for the exact firmware version numberAffected if The installed version is exactly 4.1(1j)
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Verify REST API is accessibleConfirm the APIC REST API endpoint (https://<apic-ip>/api/) is reachable and responding to requestsAffected if The REST API is enabled and accessible from the network where the attacker resides
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Confirm administrator access existsReview current administrator accounts with REST API access privileges in the APIC AAA settingsAffected if There are authenticated administrator accounts that can access the REST API (the attacker needs valid admin credentials)
You are affected only if the APIC version is exactly 4.1(1j) AND the REST API is accessible to an authenticated administrator account.
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 dataApply the Cisco patch for CVE-2019-1889. Restrict REST API access to trusted administrator accounts only and monitor for suspicious software upload activities.
Fix this in Application Policy Infrastructure Controller
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-1889 — 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-2019-1889 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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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.
- 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