# CVE-2019-1698: Cisco IoT Field Network Director XML External Entity Vulnerability

> An authenticated attacker can read sensitive files on Cisco IoT Field Network Director by importing a crafted XML file exploiting an XXE vulnerability.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 21 Feb 2019
- **Updated:** 21 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-53cf-9pqv-xjxx

## What is CVE-2019-1698?

CVE-2019-1698 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco IoT Field Network Director (IoT-FND), published on 21 Feb 2019. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the web-based user interface of Cisco Internet of Things Field Network Director (IoT-FND) Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to gain read access to information that is stored on an affected system. The vulnerability is due to improper handling of XML External Entity (XXE) entries when parsing certain XML files. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by importing a crafted XML file with malicious entries, which could allow the attacker to read files within the affected application. Versions prior to 4.4(0.26) are affected.

Weakness: CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-1698?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Iot Field Network Director.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-1698?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-1698 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-1698 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-1698 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/raytran54/CVE-2019-1698 (github_poc): https://github.com/raytran54/CVE-2019-1698

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco IoT Field Network Director (IoT-FND)

- [CVE-2020-3531](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3531/): Cisco IoT Field Network Director Unauthenticated REST API Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2018-0270](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0270/): Cross-site request forgery in Cisco IoT Field Network Director (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-26072](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-26072/): Cisco IoT Field Network Director SOAP API Authorization Bypass Vulnerability (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2026-20167](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20167/): Cisco IoT Field Network Director Remote Device Denial of Service Vulnerability (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2020-3392](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3392/): Cisco IoT Field Network Director Missing API Authentication Vulnerability (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-1698 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-1698 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco IoT Field Network Director (IoT-FND), published on 21 Feb 2019. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-1698 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco IoT Field Network Director (IoT-FND). 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-2019-1698/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1698/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-1698
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-1698
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-1698

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1698/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.