Security ManagerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2019-1903
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 Cisco Security Manager could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to access sensitive information or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper restrictions on XML entities. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious requests to a targeted system that contain references within XML entities. An exploit could allow the attacker to retrieve files from the local system, resulting in the disclosure of sensitive information, or cause the application to consume available resources, resulting in a DoS condition.
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 confidenceAn XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability in Cisco Security Manager allows unauthenticated remote attackers to send malicious XML requests containing external entity references. This enables file retrieval from the local system (information disclosure) or resource exhaustion (DoS). The vulnerability stems from improper restrictions on XML entity processing.
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
Security ManagerApplication
= 4.14CVSS 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
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 Cisco Security Manager installationLocate the Cisco Security Manager application on the system. Typical installation paths may include C:\Program Files\Cisco Systems\ or /opt/cisco/ on Linux. Check for the presence of the Security Manager web interface or associated services.Affected if Cisco Security Manager is installed on the system
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Check installed version of Cisco Security ManagerAccess the application's About or Version information through the web interface (typically https://<hostname>/csmp), the Windows Start menu, or by checking installed program details in the system control panel. Compare the version number to the affected version.Affected if The installed version is exactly 4.14
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Verify the XML web service interface is accessibleDetermine if the Cisco Security Manager web interface (CSMP) is reachable on the network. Attempt to access the XML endpoint or check if the web service port (default 443) is open and listening.Affected if The Cisco Security Manager web interface is network-accessible and accepts XML requests
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Confirm XML parser allows external entity processingReview XML parser configuration files or settings within the Security Manager installation. Check whether the XML parser has disabled external entity resolution. This may require access to configuration files or XML processing library settings used by the application.Affected if External entity processing is enabled in the XML parser configuration
A system is affected if Cisco Security Manager version 4.14 is installed and its XML web interface is accessible, as this allows unauthenticated attackers to exploit the XXE vulnerability.
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 Cisco's official patch for CVE-2019-1903. Until patched, consider restricting XML input, disabling external entity processing in XML parsers, and implementing input validation on the affected interface.
Fix this in Security Manager
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-1903 — 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-2019-1903 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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- 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
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