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CVE Record

CVE-2018-15381: Cisco Unity Express Arbitrary Command Execution Vulnerability

A Java deserialization vulnerability in Cisco Unity Express (CUE) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary shell commands with the privileges of the root user. The vulnerability is due to insecure deserialization of user-supplied content by the affected software. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious serialized Java object to the listening Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) service. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the device with root privileges.

CriticalCVSS 9.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysis

Security readout for executives and security teams

This flaw lets a remote, unauthenticated attacker run commands as root on affected Cisco Unity Express systems. Business risk is severe where CUE is reachable from untrusted networks, because compromise could expose voicemail or communications infrastructure and disrupt service. Exposure is most likely in organizations running Cisco Unity Express where the Java RMI service is reachable from untrusted networks. The bundle lists Cisco Unity Express as affected but does not provide version details. Treat this as urgent for any reachable Cisco Unity Express system. Prioritize inventory first, then isolate exposure and follow Cisco’s remediation guidance. Systems not deployed or not reachable reduce immediate risk. Mitigation focus: Inventory all Cisco Unity Express deployments and owners.; Review Cisco’s advisory for affected and fixed release details.; Apply Cisco-recommended updates or workarounds where applicable..

Prepared

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · medium confidence lookup

CWE-502: Code execution behavior lookup

Code execution and unsafe deserialization weaknesses often justify reviewing execution behavior and process telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2018-15381 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
9.8CVSS 3.0CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

9.8Critical
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2018-15381Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
CiscoCisco Unity Expressn/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-502 · source CWE mapping

Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Deserialization of Untrusted Data represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.