# CVE-2019-1938: Cisco UCS Director and Cisco UCS Director Express for Big Data API Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

> Unauthenticated remote attackers can bypass authentication to execute arbitrary actions with administrator privileges on Cisco UCS Director systems.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 21 Aug 2019
- **Updated:** 19 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-99xv-4fxw-wm5h

## What is CVE-2019-1938?

CVE-2019-1938 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Unified Computing System Director, published on 21 Aug 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco UCS Director and Cisco UCS Director Express for Big Data could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and execute arbitrary actions with administrator privileges on an affected system. The vulnerability is due to improper authentication request handling. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow an unprivileged attacker to access and execute arbitrary actions through certain APIs.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-1938?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Cisco Ucs Director, Cisco Ucs Director Express for Big Data.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-1938?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-1938 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-1938 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-1938 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Unified Computing System Director

- [CVE-2020-3239](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3239/): Multiple Vulnerabilities in Cisco UCS Director and Cisco UCS Director Express for Big Data (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-3240](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3240/): Multiple Vulnerabilities in Cisco UCS Director and Cisco UCS Director Express for Big Data (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-3243](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3243/): Multiple Vulnerabilities in Cisco UCS Director and Cisco UCS Director Express for Big Data (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-3247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3247/): Multiple Vulnerabilities in Cisco UCS Director and Cisco UCS Director Express for Big Data (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-3248](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3248/): Multiple Vulnerabilities in Cisco UCS Director and Cisco UCS Director Express for Big Data (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-1938 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-1938 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Unified Computing System Director, published on 21 Aug 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-2019-1938 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Unified Computing System Director. 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-2019-1938/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1938/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-1938
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-1938
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-1938

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1938/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.