Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-11278 is a high-severity Cloud Foundry UAA flaw. An already-privileged remote user could abuse SCIM query handling to learn sensitive information and escalate control over UAA scopes. This is not a drive-by issue, but it can undermine identity and authorization boundaries.
Executive priority
Treat as priority remediation for Cloud Foundry environments using UAA before 74.1.0. The prerequisite privileges reduce broad internet risk, but identity-scope compromise can create serious business impact if an insider, compromised client, or overprivileged automation account abuses it.
Technical view
CF UAA releases before 74.1.0 allowed external input to be queried directly in SCIM handling. A remote actor with both client.write and groups.update could use blind SCIM injection to disclose information and gain UAA scopes they should not control. CVSS is 8.7 with high confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Cloud Foundry UAA Release OSS deployments before 74.1.0. Risk is highest where clients or users hold both client.write and groups.update. Systems not running UAA, upgraded UAA versions, or environments without those grants are less likely exposed.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not cite active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV in the bundle. Exploitation requires network access and high existing privileges, but successful abuse can cross authorization boundaries and affect sensitive identity-management scopes.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a blind SCIM injection leading to information leakage and privilege escalation in CF UAA before 74.1.0. The bundle does not include proof of exploitation in the wild, detailed patch notes, or affected downstream distributions. Avoid assuming impact beyond the named OSS UAA release.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade CF UAA Release OSS to 74.1.0 or later.
- Review vendor advisory for deployment-specific guidance.
- Restrict client.write and groups.update to tightly controlled principals.
- Audit recent UAA scope and group changes for unexpected activity.
- Review privileged clients for unnecessary authorization-management access.
Validation and detection
- Inventory deployed UAA versions and identify releases before 74.1.0.
- List principals holding both client.write and groups.update.
- Check UAA audit logs for unusual scope or group modifications.
- Confirm upgraded environments report UAA 74.1.0 or later.
- Verify privileged grants are justified and documented.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-77: Command execution behavior lookup
Command injection weaknesses can lead defenders to review execution techniques and command interpreter 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.
Open ATT&CK lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-11278 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.7 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N2.35.8Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
8.7HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.cloudfoundry.org/blog/cve-2019-11278CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.