Summary

• A vulnerability in the filesystem management for the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Mode Switch Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker with administrator rights to gain elevated privileges as the root user on an affected device.
  
  The vulnerability is due to overly permissive file permissions of specific system files. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to an affected device, creating a crafted command string, and writing this crafted string to a specific file location. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary operating system commands as root on an affected device. The attacker would need to have valid administrator credentials for the device.

  Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
  
  This advisory is available at the following link:
  https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20190501-nexus9k-rpe

Affected Products

• Vulnerable Products

  This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products if they are running a Cisco Nexus 9000 Series ACI Mode Switch Software Release prior to 13.2(6i) and 14.1(1i):

  • Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches in Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) mode

  Determining the Cisco NX-OS Software Release

  Administrators can determine the release of Cisco NX-OS Software running on a device by using the show version command in the device CLI. The following example identifies the 11.2(2) Release:

  nxos-n9k-aci# show version
  Cisco Nexus Operating System (NX-OS) Software
  such license is available at
  http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.php and http://www.opensource.org/licenses/lgpl-2.1.php
  Software
  BIOS:      version N/A
  kickstart: version 11.2(2) [build 11.2(1.184)]
  system:    version 11.2(2) [build 11.2(1.184)]
  .
  .
  .

  Determining the Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Software Release

  There is a one-to-one mapping between the software for Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) and Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches in ACI mode. To determine which Cisco APIC Software release is running on a device, administrators can disregard the leftmost digit of the Cisco NX-OS Software version number. In the preceding example, the output shows Cisco NX-OS Software version 11.2(2), which maps to Cisco APIC Software Release 1.2(2).

  Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable

  Only products listed in the Vulnerable Products section of this advisory are known to be affected by this vulnerability.

  Cisco has confirmed that this vulnerability does not affect the following Cisco products:

  • Firepower 2100 Series
  • Firepower 4100 Series
  • Firepower 9300 Security Appliances
  • MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches
  • Nexus 1000V Switch for Microsoft Hyper-V
  • Nexus 1000V Switch for VMware vSphere
  • Nexus 3000 Series Switches
  • Nexus 3500 Platform Switches
  • Nexus 3600 Platform Switches
  • Nexus 5500 Platform Switches
  • Nexus 5600 Platform Switches
  • Nexus 6000 Series Switches
  • Nexus 7000 Series Switches
  • Nexus 7700 Series Switches
  • Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode
  • Nexus 9500 R-Series Switching Platform
  • UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects
  • UCS 6300 Series Fabric Interconnects
  • UCS 6400 Series Fabric Interconnects

Workarounds

• There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

Fixed Software

• Cisco has released free software updates that address the vulnerability described in this advisory. Customers may only install and expect support for software versions and feature sets for which they have purchased a license. By installing, downloading, accessing, or otherwise using such software upgrades, customers agree to follow the terms of the Cisco software license: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/end-user-license-agreement.html

  Additionally, customers may only download software for which they have a valid license, procured from Cisco directly, or through a Cisco authorized reseller or partner. In most cases this will be a maintenance upgrade to software that was previously purchased. Free security software updates do not entitle customers to a new software license, additional software feature sets, or major revision upgrades.

  When considering software upgrades, customers are advised to regularly consult the advisories for Cisco products, which are available from the Cisco Security Advisories and Alerts page, to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution.

  In all cases, customers should ensure that the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and confirm that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or their contracted maintenance providers.

  Customers Without Service Contracts

  Customers who purchase directly from Cisco but do not hold a Cisco service contract and customers who make purchases through third-party vendors but are unsuccessful in obtaining fixed software through their point of sale should obtain upgrades by contacting the Cisco TAC:
  https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/web/tsd-cisco-worldwide-contacts.html

  Customers should have the product serial number available and be prepared to provide the URL of this advisory as evidence of entitlement to a free upgrade.

  Fixed Releases

  This vulnerability is fixed in Cisco Nexus 9000 Series ACI Mode Switch Software release 13.2(6i), 14.1(1i), and later releases.

  Additional Resources

  For help determining the best Cisco NX-OS Software release for a Cisco Nexus Switch, administrators can refer to the following Recommended Releases documents. If a security advisory recommends a later release, Cisco recommends following the advisory guidance.

  Cisco MDS Series Switches
  Cisco Nexus 1000V for VMware Switch
  Cisco Nexus 3000 Series and 3500 Series Switches
  Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches
  Cisco Nexus 5500 Platform Switches
  Cisco Nexus 6000 Series Switches
  Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches
  Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches
  Cisco Nexus 9000 Series ACI-Mode Switches

  For help determining the best Cisco NX-OS Software release for Cisco UCS, refer to the Recommended Releases documents in the release notes for the device.

Exploitation and Public Announcements

• The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability that is described in this advisory.

Source

• Cisco would like to thank Oliver Matula from ERNW Enno Rey Netzwerke GmbH in cooperation with ERNW Research GmbH.

URL

• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20190501-nexus9k-rpe

Revision History

• Version	Description	Section	Status	Date
  1.3	Clarified the vulnerable product versions.	Vulnerable Products	Final	2019-May-15
  1.2	Added the fixed version 13.2(6i).	Vulnerable Products, Fixed Software	Final	2019-May-09
  1.1	Changed the product name to be more specific.	Vulnerable Products	Interim	2019-May-02
  1.0	Initial public release.	—	Interim	2019-May-01

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