CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2019-12649 — Cisco Ios Xe security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.2

A vulnerability in the Image Verification feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to install and boot a malicious software image or execute unsigned binaries on an affected device. The vulnerability exists because, under certain circumstances, an affected device can be configured to not verify the digital signatures of system image files during the boot process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by abusing a specific feature that is part of the device boot process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to install and boot a malicious software image or execute unsigned binaries on the targeted device.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.2 (2.0)
Published
2019-09-25
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-347

Affected products

  • cisco / ios_xe / 16.8(1)
  • cisco / ios / 16.9.1

Matched remediation archetype

General vulnerability remediation

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Check exposure

  • Confirm the affected component, deployment paths, reachable interfaces, and enabled features from inventories and configuration, without probing production destructively.
  • Compare the advisory's affected conditions with the repository lockfiles, build manifests, artifacts, and runtime inventory.
  • Identify data sensitivity, trust boundaries, and privilege level for every confirmed affected deployment.

Remediate safely

  • Apply a vendor-supported fix or remove the affected component or feature; record the selected change and its source in the repository.
  • Update direct and transitive dependency locks, generated artifacts, deployment manifests, and asset inventories together.
  • Add a regression test for the documented unsafe condition using inert inputs and preserve rollback instructions.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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