Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This issue lets a remote unauthenticated attacker get certain RTF or RAR files past Cisco Firepower malware/file policy inspection. It does not grant system access by itself, but can weaken a control relied on to block risky files.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation where Cisco Firepower is a primary file-blocking control for inbound content. The issue is moderate, but business risk rises if it protects email, web downloads, or partner file exchange.
Technical view
CVE-2019-12696 is a CWE-693 protection mechanism failure in Cisco Firepower System Software Detection Engine. The CVSS 3.0 vector is network, low complexity, no privileges or user interaction, changed scope, and low integrity impact only.
Likely exposure
Organizations using Cisco FireSIGHT or Firepower System Software with Malware and File Policies for RTF or RAR file types. The bundle does not identify exact vulnerable versions or deployment prerequisites.
Exploitation context
No source in the bundle indicates active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked as KEV. Practical impact is policy bypass for specific file types, potentially allowing malicious files to avoid expected inspection.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Cisco advisory metadata. The bundle confirms remote unauthenticated policy bypass for RTF and RAR handling, but not exact versions, exploit details, or named fixes.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco's advisory for affected releases and fixed software guidance.
- Upgrade or apply vendor-recommended remediation where applicable.
- Confirm Malware and File Policies still inspect RTF and RAR file types.
- Use defense-in-depth controls for email, web, and endpoint file inspection.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco FireSIGHT or Firepower deployments and software versions.
- Check whether Malware and File Policies are configured for RTF and RAR files.
- Compare installed versions against Cisco's advisory guidance.
- Review security logs for unexpected RTF or RAR handling gaps.
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-693: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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 lookupCVE-2019-12696 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/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:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N3.91.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
5.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20191002 Cisco Firepower System Software Detection Engine RTF and RAR Malware and File Policy Bypass VulnerabilitiesCVE 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.
Protection Mechanism Failure
Protection Mechanism Failure represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.