# CVE-2019-1903: Cisco Security Manager XML Entity Expansion Vulnerability

> Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit XML entity expansion to read local files or cause denial of service in Cisco Security Manager.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 Jun 2019
- **Updated:** 19 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gm7g-6h7x-rpgr

## What is CVE-2019-1903?

CVE-2019-1903 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Security Manager, published on 20 Jun 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in Cisco Security Manager could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to access sensitive information or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper restrictions on XML entities. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious requests to a targeted system that contain references within XML entities. An exploit could allow the attacker to retrieve files from the local system, resulting in the disclosure of sensitive information, or cause the application to consume available resources, resulting in a DoS condition.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-1903?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Security Manager.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-1903?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-1903 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-1903 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-1903 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Security Manager

- [CVE-2020-27130](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27130/): Cisco Security Manager Path Traversal Vulnerability (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2020-27131](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27131/): Cisco Security Manager Java Deserialization Vulnerabilities (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2020-27125](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27125/): Cisco Security Manager Static Credential Vulnerability (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2014-3267](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3267/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2008-3820](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3820/): Misconfiguration in n/a (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-1903 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-1903 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Security Manager, published on 20 Jun 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-2019-1903 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Security Manager. 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-2019-1903/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1903/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-1903
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-1903
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-1903

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1903/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.