CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2019-15981 — Cisco Data Center Network Manager security vulnerability

High CVSS 9

Multiple vulnerabilities in the REST and SOAP API endpoints and the Application Framework feature of Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to conduct directory traversal attacks on an affected device. To exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker would need administrative privileges on the DCNM application. 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-22

Affected products

  • cisco / data_center_network_manager

Matched remediation archetype

Path traversal, unsafe upload, and file handling

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted filenames, archive entries, URLs, and path segments into read, write, include, extraction, and upload operations.
  • Identify filesystem roots, mount permissions, symbolic-link behavior, archive handling, and whether uploaded content is web-accessible or executable.
  • Review canonicalization and containment checks across supported operating systems and storage backends.

Remediate safely

  • Generate server-side storage identifiers and resolve paths beneath a fixed root using filesystem-aware containment checks.
  • Reject absolute, parent-relative, alternate-separator, device, link, and archive entries that escape the intended root.
  • Store uploads outside executable or served paths, validate type and size, and use private atomic temporary files.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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