CVE-2019-16028
📋 TL;DR
This critical vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain administrative access to Cisco Firepower Management Center's web interface. It affects FMC devices using external LDAP authentication servers. Attackers can execute arbitrary actions with full administrative privileges.
💻 Affected Systems
- Cisco Firepower Management Center
📦 What is this software?
Secure Firewall Management Center by Cisco
Secure Firewall Management Center by Cisco
Secure Firewall Management Center by Cisco
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of the FMC device, allowing attackers to reconfigure security policies, disable protections, access sensitive network data, and potentially pivot to other network segments.
Likely Case
Unauthorized administrative access leading to security policy manipulation, data exfiltration, and potential lateral movement within the network.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation and access controls prevent external access to the management interface.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending crafted HTTP requests to the web interface. No authentication required.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 6.4.0.4 and 6.5.0
Vendor Advisory: https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20200122-fmc-auth
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup current configuration. 2. Download and install FMC software version 6.4.0.4 or 6.5.0 from Cisco Software Center. 3. Reboot the FMC device. 4. Verify successful upgrade and functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable LDAP Authentication
allSwitch from external LDAP authentication to local authentication on the FMC device
Navigate to System > Users > Authentication Servers and disable LDAP servers
Restrict Network Access
allLimit access to FMC web interface to trusted IP addresses only
Configure firewall rules to restrict access to FMC management IP/ports
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to isolate FMC management interface from untrusted networks
- Enable multi-factor authentication if available and monitor authentication logs for suspicious activity
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check FMC version via web interface: System > Updates > Version Information. If version is below 6.4.0.4 or 6.5.0 and LDAP authentication is configured, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
From FMC CLI: show version | include VersionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify FMC version is 6.4.0.4 or 6.5.0 or higher. Test LDAP authentication functionality to ensure it still works properly.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual authentication patterns from unexpected IP addresses
- Multiple failed LDAP authentication attempts followed by successful administrative access
- Configuration changes from unauthenticated sources
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to FMC management interface with crafted authentication parameters
- Unusual traffic patterns to FMC web interface from external sources
SIEM Query:
source="fmc.log" AND (event_type="authentication" AND result="success" AND source_ip NOT IN [trusted_ips]) OR (event_type="configuration_change" AND user="unknown")