Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center and Secure Firewall Threat Defense Software Command Injection Vulnerability

TL;DR 📌

A command injection vulnerability has been identified in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software. This medium-severity issue allows authenticated local attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. Cisco has released software updates to address this vulnerability, but no workarounds are available.

What happened 🕵️‍♂️

A vulnerability in the command-line interface (CLI) of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Software has been discovered. This flaw arises from improper input validation for specific CLI commands, enabling an authenticated local attacker to inject operating system commands. If exploited, the attacker could escape the restricted command prompt and execute arbitrary commands as root on the underlying operating system. Successful exploitation requires valid Administrator credentials.

Affected products 🖥️

• Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Software
• Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense Software

Fixed software 🔧

Upgrade to the first fixed release in your train (or later):

Workarounds 🧯

There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

Risk in context 🎯

The highest CVSS score for this vulnerability is 6.0, categorizing it as Medium severity. The risk is primarily driven by the requirement for valid Administrator credentials, which limits exposure to authenticated users. However, if an attacker gains access to the system, they could potentially exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges.

Fast facts ⚡

• Vulnerability Type: Command Injection
• CVSS Score: 6.0 (Medium)
• Impact: Arbitrary command execution as root
• Authentication Required: Yes (Administrator credentials)
• Workarounds: None available

For leadership 🧭

This command injection vulnerability poses a Medium risk to our network security. It requires valid Administrator credentials for exploitation, limiting exposure primarily to authenticated users. However, if exploited, it could allow attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system, potentially compromising system integrity.

Remediation ask: Patch affected systems within 7 days, as Cisco has provided fixed software.

Operational impact: Expect a brief maintenance window with no configuration drift anticipated.

Clear Now / Next / Later:

• Now: Review affected systems and verify if they are running vulnerable software.
• Next: Schedule and apply the necessary software updates.
• Later: Monitor for any unusual activity or signs of exploitation.