# CVE-2019-1616: Cisco NX-OS Software Cisco Fabric Services Denial of Service Vulnerability

> Unauthenticated remote attackers can cause a denial of service on Cisco NX-OS devices by sending crafted packets that trigger a buffer overflow.

- **Severity:** High 8.6 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 19 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qfp2-rcgq-9rpw

## What is CVE-2019-1616?

CVE-2019-1616 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Cisco Nx-Os, published on 11 Mar 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the Cisco Fabric Services component of Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a buffer overflow, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of Cisco Fabric Services packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted Cisco Fabric Services packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a buffer overflow, resulting in process crashes and a DoS condition on the device. MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches are affected running software versions prior to 6.2(25), 8.1(1b), 8.3(1). Nexus 3000 Series Switches are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)I4(9) and 7.0(3)I7(4). Nexus 3500 Platform Switches are affected running software versions prior to 6.0(2)A8(10) and 7.0(3)I7(4). Nexus 3600 Platform Switches are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)F3(5) Nexus 7000 and 7700 Series Switches are affected running software versions prior to 6.2(22) and 8.2(3). Nexus 9000 Series Switches in Standalone NX-OS Mode are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)I4(9) and 7.0(3)I7(4). Nexus 9500 R-Series Line Cards and Fabric Modules are affected running software versions prior to 7.0(3)F3(5). UCS 6200, 6300, and 6400 Fabric Interconnects are affected running software versions prior to 3.2(3j) and 4.0(2a).

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer), CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-1616?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Nx-Os.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-1616?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-1616 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-1616 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-1616 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Nx-Os

- [CVE-2024-20399](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20399/): Cisco NX-OS Command Injection (medium 6.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-1361](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1361/): Cisco NX-OS Software Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Actions Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2018-0301](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0301/): Memory corruption in Cisco NX-OS unknown (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-1453](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1453/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-1341](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1341/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-1616 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-1616 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Cisco Nx-Os, published on 11 Mar 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-1616 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Nx-Os. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1616/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1616/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-1616
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-1616
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-1616

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1616/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.