Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
An authenticated user could abuse Cisco WSA web management to force a device reset. Impact can include administrator password change, privileged access, network configuration reset, and outage requiring manual recovery.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for internet or broadly reachable management planes. The business risk is device takeover or outage requiring manual intervention.
Technical view
Cisco AsyncOS for Web Security Appliance has improper authorization on a specific web management URL. A remote authenticated attacker can send a malicious request causing device reset outcomes with confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Cisco WSA web management is reachable to authenticated users or broad internal networks. The supplied bundle does not list exact affected or fixed versions.
Exploitation context
The source bundle and KEV flag do not show active exploitation. Attack requirements are network access, low privileges, and no user interaction.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports CWE-284 improper authorization with CVSS 8.8. Version and remediation details are incomplete in the supplied data, so avoid assuming exploitability outside Cisco WSA AsyncOS.
Mitigation direction
- Check Cisco advisory for affected and fixed AsyncOS releases.
- Restrict WSA web management access to trusted administration networks.
- Review administrative accounts and remove unnecessary access.
- Prepare manual recovery steps for password or network configuration reset.
- Monitor Cisco guidance for workarounds or upgrade instructions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco Web Security Appliance deployments and AsyncOS versions.
- Confirm whether web management is exposed beyond administrator networks.
- Review logs for unexpected management reset or password-change activity.
- Validate admin credentials and network configuration integrity.
- Track remediation status against Cisco advisory guidance.
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-284: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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 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-2019-15956 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:N/AC:L/PR:L/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:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20191106 Cisco Web Security Appliance Unauthorized Device Reset 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 Access Control
Improper Access Control represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.