Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-12671 lets a highly privileged, authenticated local user on affected Cisco IOS XE devices bypass consent-token enforcement and gain operating-system shell access. It is not a remote unauthenticated issue, but compromise of a router or switch control plane can have serious operational impact.
Executive priority
Treat this as a controlled but important network-infrastructure risk. Prioritize validation on perimeter, core routing, and critical switching devices, then patch or mitigate per Cisco guidance. It is not an emergency based on the supplied exploitation evidence.
Technical view
The Cisco IOS XE CLI insufficiently enforces the consent token used to authorize shell access. An authenticated local attacker with high privileges could obtain shell access and execute commands on the underlying OS. The provided affected entry names Cisco IOS XE Software 3.2.9SG only.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to Cisco IOS XE Software 3.2.9SG devices where an attacker can authenticate to the CLI with high privileges. The provided sources do not establish broader affected versions or device models.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires authenticated local CLI access with high privileges, reducing broad internet exposure but increasing concern for insider misuse or stolen admin credentials.
Researcher notes
Key constraints are AV:L and PR:H, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact after successful bypass. Evidence is incomplete on fixed versions and additional affected releases, so do not expand scope beyond Cisco IOS XE 3.2.9SG without vendor confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Cisco IOS XE devices and identify any running version 3.2.9SG.
- Review the Cisco advisory for fixed software and vendor-approved mitigations.
- Restrict CLI administration to trusted networks, jump hosts, and named administrators.
- Audit privileged accounts and remove stale or shared administrator credentials.
- Monitor device logs for unusual shell access or privileged CLI activity.
Validation and detection
- Confirm device IOS XE versions against the affected version in the advisory.
- Verify administrative CLI access is limited to approved users and locations.
- Check whether Cisco lists a fixed release for each affected platform.
- Review recent privileged-login and shell-access logs for anomalies.
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
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CWE-285: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-12671 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.7 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H0.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
6.7MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20190925 Cisco IOS XE Software Consent Token Bypass VulnerabilityCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_CISCO
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 Authorization
Improper Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.