Improper authentication in Cisco UCS Director
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-287.
Summary
A vulnerability in the role-based resource checking functionality of the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) Director could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to view unauthorized information for any virtual machine in the UCS Director end-user portal and perform any permitted operations on any virtual machine. The permitted operations can be configured for the end user on the virtual machines with either of the following settings: The virtual machine is associated to a Virtual Data Center (VDC) that has an end user self-service policy attached to the VDC. The end user role has VM Management Actions settings configured under User Permissions. This is a global configuration, so all the virtual machines visible in the end-user portal will have the VM management actions available. The vulnerability is due to improper user authentication checks. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging in to the UCS Director with a modified username and valid password. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain visibility into and perform actions against all virtual machines in the UCS Director end-user portal of the affected system. This vulnerability affects Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) Director releases 6.0 and 6.5 prior to patch 3 that are in a default configuration. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvh53501.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Cisco UCS Director | Cisco UCS Director | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- Cisco UCS Director Vendor— Affected Cisco UCS Director Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2018-0238
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-jr59-qj3r-wcp8
References
More Cisco Unified Computing System Director vulnerabilities
- TI-2015-05250 The JavaServer Pages (JSP) component in Cisco Integrated Management Controller (IMC)… CVSS 2.0HIGH 9.4
- TI-2017-02899 Access control flaw in Cisco UCS Director versions 6.0.0.0 and 6.0.0.1 CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.8
- TI-2018-10964 Resource management flaw in Cisco Unified Computing System Director CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2018-00183 Cross-site scripting in Cisco UCS Director CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 6.1
- TI-2017-02964 Cross-site scripting in Cisco UCS Director CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 6.1
- TI-2017-02914 Incorrect authorization in Cisco UCS Director CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 4.3
Sources
- CVE-2018-0238 · CVE Program
- CVE-2018-0238 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jr59-qj3r-wcp8 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences