Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Cisco IMC on Cisco UCS E-Series Software can let a logged-in administrator inject commands through IPMI and run them as root. This is serious because compromise of a management controller can undermine the host platform, but the source evidence says the attacker needs admin privileges and network access to IPMI.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority for infrastructure and data-center teams, especially if IPMI management networks are broadly reachable. The main business risk is privileged compromise of server management infrastructure, not unauthenticated internet-scale exploitation based on the provided evidence.
Technical view
CVE-2019-1634 is CWE-78 command injection in Cisco IMC IPMI caused by insufficient input validation of user-supplied commands. It is network reachable, low complexity, requires high privileges, no user interaction, and has CVSS 3.0 score 7.2 with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Cisco UCS E-Series Software management interfaces are reachable by administrators over IPMI. The bundle lists affected versions as unspecified, so teams must confirm exact exposure against Cisco's advisory and asset inventory.
Exploitation context
The provided bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires authenticated administrator privileges and access to the network where IPMI resides. Successful exploitation could execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying operating system.
Researcher notes
Key constraints are high required privileges and IPMI network access. Affected version detail and fixed release information are not present in the supplied bundle, so validation should rely on Cisco's advisory and local asset/version evidence rather than assumptions.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco's advisory for affected releases and vendor remediation guidance.
- Identify all Cisco UCS E-Series Software assets using Cisco IMC/IPMI.
- Restrict IMC/IPMI access to trusted management networks only.
- Limit administrator accounts to required personnel and review privileges.
- Apply vendor-provided fixed software or mitigations where Cisco specifies them.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco UCS E-Series Software and associated IMC/IPMI endpoints.
- Confirm whether each asset matches Cisco advisory affected criteria.
- Verify IPMI is unreachable from untrusted or general user networks.
- Review IMC/IPMI administrator accounts for unnecessary access.
- Check management logs for unusual administrative command activity.
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-78: Command execution behavior lookup
Command injection weaknesses can lead defenders to review execution techniques and command interpreter 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 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-2019-1634 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
- 20190821 Cisco Integrated Management Controller Command Injection 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 Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.