CVE-2019-12700
Cisco FTD, FMC, and FXOS Software Pluggable Authentication Module Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the configuration of the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) used in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software, Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) Software, and Cisco FXOS Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper resource management in the context of user session management. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to an affected system and performing many simultaneous successful Secure Shell (SSH) logins. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust system resources and cause the device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker needs valid user credentials on the system.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.7
Cisco FTD, FMC, and FXOS Software Pluggable Authentication Module Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the configuration of the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) used in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software, Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) Software, and Cisco FXOS Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper resource management in the context of user session management. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to an affected system and performing many simultaneous successful Secure Shell (SSH) logins. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust system resources and cause the device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker needs valid user credentials on the system.
- Record
CVE-2019-12700- CVSS 3.0
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2019-4291
7.7
A vulnerability in the configuration of the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) used in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software, Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) Software, and Cisco FXOS Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper resource management in the context of user session management. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to an affected system and performing many simultaneous successful Secure Shell (SSH) logins. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust system resources and cause the device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker needs valid user credentials on the system.
- Record
EUVD-2019-4291- CVSS 3.0
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-5gfq-ghv5-4j5q
6.5
A vulnerability in the configuration of the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) used in Cisco...
A vulnerability in the configuration of the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) used in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software, Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) Software, and Cisco FXOS Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper resource management in the context of user session management. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to an affected system and performing many simultaneous successful Secure Shell (SSH) logins. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust system resources and cause the device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker needs valid user credentials on the system.
- Record
GHSA-5gfq-ghv5-4j5q- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
6.5
A vulnerability in the configuration of the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) used in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software, Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC) Software, and Cisco FXOS Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper resource management in the context of user session management. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to an affected system and performing many simultaneous successful Secure Shell (SSH) logins. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust system resources and cause the device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker needs valid user credentials on the system.
- Record
CVE-2019-12700- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 3.0
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.8 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2019-12700 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.7) in Cisco Firepower Management Center, published October 2, 2019. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.88%, the 79th percentile. No source names a fixed version.