CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2019-15979 — Cisco Data Center Network Manager security vulnerability

High CVSS 9

Multiple vulnerabilities in the REST and SOAP API endpoints of Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker with administrative privileges on the DCNM application to inject arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system (OS). For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory. Note: The severity of these vulnerabilities is aggravated by the vulnerabilities described in the Cisco Data Center Network Manager Authentication Bypass Vulnerabilities advisory, published simultaneously with this one.

Severity
High
CVSS
9 (2.0)
Published
2020-01-06
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-78

Affected products

  • cisco / data_center_network_manager

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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