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Full vulnerability report · 2019
CVE-2019-1615High confidence

Cisco NX-OS Software Image Signature Verification Vulnerability

Cisco · Nexus 3000 Series Switches

6.7MediumCVSS 3.0
Recommended action
Scheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Fix not verified
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Select the national-authority views to include. The exact source language is shown on each matched advisory. Your choice is remembered on this device and encoded in the shareable URL.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2019-10172

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionScheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

A vulnerability in the Image Signature Verification feature of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with administrator-level credentials to install a malicious software image on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper verification of digital signatures for software images. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by loading an unsigned software image on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious software image. Note: The fix for this vulnerability requires a BIOS upgrade as part of the software upgrade. For additional information, see the Details section of this advisory. Nexus 3000 Series Switches are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)I7(5). Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches in ACI Mode are affected running software versions prior to 13.2(1l). Nexus 9000 Series Switches in Standalone NX-OS Mode are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)I7(5). Nexus 9500 R-Series Line Cards and Fabric Modules are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)F3(5).

What

A vulnerability in the Image Signature Verification feature of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with administrator-level credentials to install a malicious software image on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper verification of digital signatures for software images. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by loading an unsigned software image on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious software image. Note: The fix for this vulnerability requires a BIOS upgrade as part of the software upgrade. For additional information, see the Details section of this advisory. Nexus 3000 Series Switches are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)I7(5). Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches in ACI Mode are affected running software versions prior to 13.2(1l). Nexus 9000 Series Switches in Standalone NX-OS Mode are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)I7(5). Nexus 9500 R-Series Line Cards and Fabric Modules are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)F3(5).

Why

The product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for data.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

A vulnerability in the Image Signature Verification feature of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with administrator-level credentials to install a malicious software image on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper verification of digital signatures for software images. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by loading an unsigned software image on an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to boot a malicious software image. Note: The fix for this vulnerability requires a BIOS upgrade as part of the software upgrade. For additional information, see the Details section of this advisory. Nexus 3000 Series Switches are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)I7(5). Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches in ACI Mode are affected running software versions prior to 13.2(1l). Nexus 9000 Series Switches in Standalone NX-OS Mode are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)I7(5). Nexus 9500 R-Series Line Cards and Fabric Modules are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)F3(5).

Why

The product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for data.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
local access → Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
High: elevated access is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-347 ↗

CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature. The product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for data.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.0: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRHighPrivileges required: The attacker needs elevated or administrative privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
Stolen credentials, tokens and legitimate administration functions may provide continued access without deploying a large custom toolset.
CWE-347
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix not verified
Affected
unspecified < 7.0(3)I7(5); unspecified < 13.2(1l); unspecified < 7.0(3)F3(5)
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 11 Mar 2019 · Last source change 20 Nov 2024, 17:25 UTC · CWE-347 · Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-01
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2019-10172
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates →
  1. ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2019-10172 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.
    Before
    not recorded
    After
    {"euvdId":"EUVD-2019-10172"}
    ENISA EUVD ↗
  2. Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.
    CNA ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2019-10172↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2019-1615 · cve.blacktree.nl