External risk intelligence

Cisco NFVIS Web Portal Command Injection

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2019-1971

The vulnerability exists in a web portal component of Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software, which is designed as an internet-facing or edge-service management interface that allows for remote, unauthenticated access in its default deployment.

OS Command Injection

Cisco Enterprise Nfv Infrastructure Software

3.6.2 to 3.8.1

Halo Surface Signal: 5 out of 5 — more likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

This advisory concerns a critical vulnerability in Cisco's Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software. The issue allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges by providing malicious input to the web portal. This could lead to a compromise of the underlying operating system.

Attackers can run any command on affected systems.
A severe remote exploit allows full system control.
Confirm exposure; investigate potential system compromise.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could target the web portal of Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software, which is exposed to the internet. By providing specially crafted input during the authentication process, an unauthenticated remote attacker could trick the portal framework into executing arbitrary commands with the highest level of system privileges. This could allow the attacker to take full control of the underlying operating system.

Requires unauthenticated, remote access.
Triggered via malicious input during authentication.
Allows root command execution and system compromise.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the underlying operating system when supported by the advisory.

System data and commands at risk.
Via web portal with malicious input.
Full system compromise is possible.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

This vulnerability in Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software's web portal likely falls under the purview of platform or infrastructure teams, with potential involvement from network and security teams for exposure assessment. The immediate practical step is to identify all instances of the affected software, determine their network reachability and business criticality, and pinpoint the accountable system owners to prioritize remediation efforts.

Platform or infrastructure teams should own this.
Verify external reachability and business impact.
Plan remediation based on identified risk.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software?

It is a virtualization platform used to deploy and manage network functions—like firewalls or routers—as virtual machines on standard server hardware. It centralizes the management of these virtual network services, often acting as the foundation for an organization's network infrastructure and edge services.

What does CVE-2019-1971 mean for system security?

This vulnerability is classified as improper input validation and OS command injection. Essentially, the software's web portal fails to properly check the data it receives. An attacker can exploit this weakness to inject and run their own system commands, which the server then executes with full root-level authority.

How does an attacker trigger this command injection?

An attacker initiates the exploit by sending specifically crafted, malicious input to the web portal while attempting to authenticate. The vulnerability is tied to the portal's interaction with the user; standard, non-malicious login attempts or actions that do not interact with the compromised authentication fields will not trigger this specific command injection.

Why should I care about this CVE-2019-1971 vulnerability?

According to Halo Surface Signal, this software is often deployed as an internet-facing management interface. Because the vulnerability allows for remote, unauthenticated access, any device exposed to the internet is at a higher risk of being targeted by external actors seeking to gain full control of the underlying operating system.

Do I need to take immediate action for this NFVIS issue?

Yes, start by identifying all deployed instances of the affected software within your environment. Determine which systems are reachable from the internet, assess their business criticality, and coordinate with the infrastructure or platform teams responsible for these systems to prioritize remediation and secure the management interface.

References

tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-s…

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.