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CVE Record

CVE-2019-1888: Cisco Unified Contact Center Express Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the Administration Web Interface of Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (Unified CCX) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to upload arbitrary files and execute commands on the underlying operating system. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker needs valid Administrator credentials. The vulnerability is due to insufficient restrictions for the content uploaded to an affected system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading arbitrary files containing operating system commands that will be executed by an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the web interface and then elevate their privileges to root.

HighCVSS 7.2Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2019-1888 affects Cisco Unified Contact Center Express. An attacker who already has valid Administrator credentials could abuse the administration web interface to upload harmful files, run operating system commands, and potentially gain root privileges. This is high impact, but the public source bundle does not support unauthenticated exploitation or active exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat as high priority for environments using Cisco Unified CCX, especially if the admin interface is broadly reachable. The prerequisite of valid Administrator credentials lowers broad internet-scale risk, but successful exploitation could hand an attacker root-level control of a contact center system.

Technical view

The issue is an arbitrary file upload weakness in the Cisco Unified CCX Administration Web Interface, mapped to CWE-434. The vulnerability is network-reachable, low complexity, requires high privileges, and can lead to confidentiality, integrity, and availability compromise. CVSS v3.0 is 7.2: AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to Cisco Unified Contact Center Express deployments where the Administration Web Interface is accessible and an attacker can obtain valid Administrator credentials. The provided bundle does not identify affected version ranges, so teams must confirm exposure against Cisco’s advisory and their installed releases.

Exploitation context

The source bundle describes authenticated remote exploitation through arbitrary file upload leading to command execution and possible root privilege escalation. CISA KEV status is false, and no cited source in the bundle states active exploitation or public exploit use.

Researcher notes

Evidence is strongest for impact, privilege requirement, and attack vector. The provided bundle lacks affected version detail and specific patch guidance. Validate against the Cisco advisory before concluding exposure or remediation status. Do not assume active exploitation from the supplied sources.

Mitigation direction

  • Review Cisco’s advisory for affected releases and vendor-approved remediation.
  • Apply Cisco-recommended fixed software or workarounds where applicable.
  • Restrict Administration Web Interface access to trusted administrative networks.
  • Review Unified CCX Administrator accounts and remove unnecessary access.
  • Investigate suspicious admin uploads or unexpected operating system activity.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory all Cisco Unified Contact Center Express deployments.
  • Confirm installed versions against Cisco’s advisory.
  • Identify where the Administration Web Interface is reachable.
  • Review administrator account usage for unusual access patterns.
  • Check system and application logs for suspicious uploaded files or command execution.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
3

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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 · medium confidence lookup

CWE-434: 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 lookup
description · low confidence lookup

Privilege behavior lookup

The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2019-1888 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
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

Official CVE source material

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.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.2CVSS 3.0HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.25.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

7.2High
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2019-1888Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
CiscoCisco Unified Contact Center Expressn/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-434 · source CWE mapping

Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type

Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.