Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cisco DCNM had path traversal flaws that could let a remote attacker with DCNM administrative privileges access or affect files outside intended directories. The business risk is high because successful abuse can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability, and Cisco noted the risk is aggravated when paired with separate DCNM authentication bypass issues.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority for environments using Cisco DCNM, especially where DCNM administration is reachable beyond a tightly controlled management plane or related authentication bypass exposure exists.
Technical view
CVE-2019-15982 covers multiple CWE-22 directory traversal vulnerabilities in Cisco DCNM REST API, SOAP API, and Application Framework surfaces. The CVSS v3.0 score is 7.2, with network access, low complexity, high privileges, no user interaction, and high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to organizations running Cisco Data Center Network Manager. The bundle does not specify affected versions, so teams must validate their exact DCNM releases against Cisco’s advisory.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show known active exploitation or KEV listing. Exploitation requires administrative privileges on DCNM, but Cisco warned severity is aggravated by separately disclosed DCNM authentication bypass vulnerabilities.
Researcher notes
The source bundle identifies multiple traversal issues but does not include affected version ranges, fixed releases, proof of exploitation, or detailed endpoint behavior. Avoid assuming exploitability without administrative access unless the related authentication bypass applies.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco’s advisory for affected and fixed DCNM releases.
- Upgrade or remediate DCNM according to Cisco’s official guidance.
- Restrict DCNM administrative access to trusted users and management networks.
- Review the related Cisco DCNM authentication bypass advisory.
- Remove unnecessary DCNM administrative accounts and privileges.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all Cisco DCNM deployments and versions.
- Compare deployed versions against Cisco’s advisory.
- Confirm REST, SOAP, and Application Framework access is restricted.
- Assess whether related DCNM authentication bypass vulnerabilities also apply.
- Review administrative account activity for unusual DCNM access.
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-2019-15982 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.