Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-1871 is a Cisco IMC management flaw that can let an authenticated remote attacker crash the device or run commands as root. The attacker needs high privileges, but the impact is severe because successful exploitation can fully compromise affected management software.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority for infrastructure teams that operate Cisco UCS management environments. The privilege requirement lowers broad attack likelihood, but successful exploitation can produce root compromise or service outage on management infrastructure.
Technical view
The Cisco IMC Import configuration utility has improper bounds checking in the import-config process, classified as CWE-119. Processing malicious packets may trigger a buffer overflow. CVSS 3.0 is 7.2 with network attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Cisco Unified Computing System management software uses Cisco IMC and authenticated administrators can reach the IMC management surface. The provided bundle does not identify exact affected versions, so asset owners must verify against Cisco’s advisory.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not report active exploitation, and KEV status is false. Risk is constrained by the high-privilege authentication requirement, but abuse of valid admin access could lead to root-level command execution or denial of service on affected devices.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a remotely reachable, authenticated buffer overflow in Cisco IMC’s import-config process. The source bundle does not include exploit availability, active exploitation, affected version ranges, workaround details, or fixed release numbers, so validation should be tied directly to Cisco’s advisory.
Mitigation direction
- Review Cisco’s advisory for affected releases and official fixed software guidance.
- Prioritize remediation for internet-reachable or broadly reachable IMC management interfaces.
- Restrict Cisco IMC access to trusted administrative networks and accounts.
- Audit privileged Cisco IMC accounts for unnecessary or stale access.
- Monitor Cisco advisory updates if exact version applicability is unclear.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco IMC deployments tied to Cisco Unified Computing System management software.
- Compare installed software versions against Cisco’s advisory and fixed-release guidance.
- Confirm IMC management interfaces are not exposed beyond required administrator networks.
- Review logs for unexpected configuration import activity or management-session anomalies.
- Verify privileged account membership and recent authentication events.
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-119: 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 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-2019-1871 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 Buffer Overflow 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 Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.