CVE-2019-1871 in Integrated Management Controller
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the Import Cisco IMC configuration utility of Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition and implement arbitrary commands with root privileges on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper bounds checking by the import-config process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious packets to an affected device. When the packets are processed, an exploitable buffer overflow condition may occur. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to implement arbitrary code on the affected device with elevated privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/28/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-1871 resides within Cisco's Integrated Management Controller (IMC) platform, specifically within the Import Cisco IMC configuration utility. This flaw represents a critical security weakness that undermines the integrity and availability of enterprise server management systems. The IMC serves as a crucial component for remote monitoring and management of Cisco servers, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for organizations relying on these systems for infrastructure management. The affected software components operate at a low level within the system architecture, providing direct access to core management functions that are essential for maintaining operational continuity.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate bounds checking mechanisms within the import-config process of the IMC utility. This deficiency creates a buffer overflow condition that occurs when maliciously crafted packets are transmitted to the affected device. The improper input validation allows attackers to exceed the allocated memory boundaries, resulting in unpredictable behavior that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of unsafe memory manipulation practices. The buffer overflow occurs during packet processing within the import utility, where the system fails to properly validate the size and content of incoming data before attempting to store it in memory buffers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to encompass full system compromise with root-level privileges. An authenticated remote attacker can leverage this weakness to execute arbitrary commands on the affected device, effectively gaining complete administrative control over the management controller. This privilege escalation capability allows attackers to modify system configurations, access sensitive data, and potentially establish persistent backdoors within the infrastructure. The attack vector requires only network connectivity to the management interface, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited from remote locations without physical access to the hardware. Organizations using Cisco IMC systems face significant risk of unauthorized system compromise, data breaches, and operational disruptions that could affect critical business infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-1871 should prioritize immediate software updates from Cisco to address the buffer overflow vulnerability within the import-config utility. Organizations must implement network segmentation to restrict access to management interfaces and enforce strict authentication controls to minimize the attack surface. The principle of least privilege should be applied to limit access to management functions, ensuring that only authorized personnel with legitimate business needs can interact with the IMC systems. Additionally, continuous monitoring of network traffic for suspicious packet patterns and implementing intrusion detection systems can help identify exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing network access controls that restrict communication to management interfaces from trusted IP addresses only, while maintaining detailed logging of all management activities for forensic analysis. These defensive measures align with ATT&CK framework techniques related to privilege escalation and command execution, providing a comprehensive approach to protecting against this specific vulnerability.