Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cisco DCNM has path traversal flaws that could let a logged-in administrator reach files outside intended directories. The issue is high impact because successful abuse can affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability of a network management system. The source bundle does not show active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for environments where Cisco DCNM manages critical data center networks. Patch or otherwise follow Cisco guidance promptly, especially if DCNM access is not tightly restricted or related authentication bypass exposure exists.
Technical view
CVE-2019-15981 covers multiple CWE-22 directory traversal vulnerabilities in Cisco DCNM REST and SOAP API endpoints and the Application Framework feature. Exploitation is remote, low complexity, and requires high privileges. CVSS v3.0 is 7.2, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is mainly organizations running Cisco Data Center Network Manager. Risk is highest where DCNM administrative interfaces or APIs are reachable from broad networks, or where administrative credentials could be compromised. Exact affected versions are not specified in the provided bundle.
Exploitation context
The provided sources require administrative privileges on the DCNM application. Cisco notes severity is aggravated by separate authentication bypass vulnerabilities published at the same time, but this bundle does not establish exploitation in the wild or KEV listing.
Researcher notes
Do not assess this CVE in isolation. The advisory explicitly says risk is aggravated by simultaneous DCNM authentication bypass vulnerabilities. The bundle does not provide affected release ranges, fixed versions, proof-of-concept status, or exploit telemetry.
Mitigation direction
- Identify all Cisco DCNM deployments and exposed administrative/API interfaces.
- Check Cisco’s advisory for affected and fixed releases; apply the recommended software update.
- Restrict DCNM management and API access to trusted administrative networks and accounts.
- Review administrative account hygiene because exploitation requires DCNM administrative privileges.
- Assess related Cisco DCNM authentication bypass advisory exposure.
Validation and detection
- Confirm deployed DCNM versions against Cisco’s advisory.
- Verify administrative interfaces are not internet-exposed or broadly reachable.
- Review DCNM administrator accounts for unnecessary access and stale credentials.
- Inspect logs for unusual administrative API or file-access activity.
- Document whether REST, SOAP, or Application Framework features are in use.
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-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. 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 lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-15981 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
- 7.2 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.25.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.2HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20200102 Cisco Data Center Network Manager Path Traversal 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 Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.