Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw affects Cisco Nexus 9000 switches used in ACI fabric mode. The switch software did not fully validate TLS client certificates between fabric components. If an attacker already has a trusted certificate and matching private key, they could impersonate fabric components and gain control across the ACI fabric.
Executive priority
Prioritize this for environments using Cisco ACI. Successful exploitation could compromise the fabric, but the required certificate and private key make opportunistic exploitation less likely than typical unauthenticated network flaws.
Technical view
CVE-2019-1590 is a CWE-295 certificate validation weakness in Cisco NX-OS Software for Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches in ACI Mode. Cisco describes unauthenticated remote exploitation with high complexity, requiring possession of a certificate trusted by the Cisco Manufacturing CA and its private key. Impact is high confidentiality, integrity, and availability compromise.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations running Cisco Nexus 9000 Series fabric switches in ACI mode with affected NX-OS Software. The source bundle does not identify specific vulnerable or fixed versions, so version validation must be done against Cisco guidance.
Exploitation context
No CISA KEV listing is provided, and the bundle does not cite active exploitation. Exploitation is serious but constrained: the attacker must obtain a trusted Cisco Manufacturing CA certificate and corresponding private key, then reach the targeted ACI fabric component over the network.
Researcher notes
The key uncertainty is version scope and remediation detail; the provided CVE data names the affected product family but not exact releases. Validation should stay focused on ACI-mode Nexus 9000 deployments, TLS certificate validation behavior, and Cisco advisory mapping.
Mitigation direction
- Check Cisco’s advisory for affected and fixed NX-OS ACI software releases.
- Upgrade affected Nexus 9000 ACI fabric switches per Cisco guidance.
- Restrict network access to ACI fabric control and management planes.
- Investigate any suspected certificate or private-key exposure as a security incident.
- Monitor Cisco guidance for updated workaround or remediation details.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Nexus 9000 switches operating in ACI mode.
- Compare installed NX-OS ACI versions with Cisco’s advisory.
- Confirm whether ACI fabric interfaces are reachable from untrusted networks.
- Review logs for unexpected fabric authentication or component connection activity.
- Document remediation status for every ACI fabric switch.
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-295: 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-2019-1590 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
- 8.1 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.25.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
8.1HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20190501 Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches Application Centric Infrastructure Mode Insecure Fabric Authentication 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 Certificate Validation
Improper Certificate Validation represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.