Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a high-impact Cisco appliance CLI issue. A user who already has local, low-privileged access could abuse specific commands to run operating-system commands as root. It is not described as a remote unauthenticated internet attack, but it can turn a limited local account into full device compromise.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority infrastructure hardening issue. It is not evidenced as actively exploited in the provided sources, but successful abuse gives root control of security appliances, creating serious operational and trust impact.
Technical view
CVE-2019-12699 covers multiple command injection vulnerabilities in Cisco FXOS Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software CLI handling. The stated root cause is insufficient input validation. Exploitation requires authenticated local access and crafted arguments to specific CLI commands, with successful exploitation allowing root-level OS command execution.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Cisco FXOS or Firepower Threat Defense systems are deployed and local CLI access exists for non-root users. The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not indicate CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires authenticated local access, so the main risk is privilege escalation by a compromised, malicious, or over-permissioned local user account.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports authenticated local command injection with root impact and CWE-20 input validation weakness. The supplied bundle does not include affected version ranges, fixed versions, exploit maturity, or workaround details, so validation should anchor on Cisco’s advisory.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco advisory guidance for affected releases and fixed software availability.
- Restrict CLI access to trusted administrative users only.
- Remove unnecessary local accounts and enforce least privilege.
- Monitor appliance administration activity for unusual CLI usage.
- Prioritize remediation on systems with shared or weakly controlled local access.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco FXOS and Firepower Threat Defense deployments.
- Compare running software versions against Cisco advisory affected-release information.
- Review who has local CLI access on each appliance.
- Check administrative logs for suspicious CLI activity or unexpected privilege use.
- Confirm remediation status after applying vendor-directed updates or controls.
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-20: 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 lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-12699 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
- 8.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H26Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20191002 Cisco FXOS Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software Command Injection 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.
Improper Input Validation
Improper Input Validation represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.