CVE-2018-0171
Cisco IOS and IOS XE
Published 28 Mar 2018 · updated 17 Jun 2026 · Analyzed
Exploited in the wild
CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 3 Nov 2021, with a remediation deadline of 3 May 2022 for US federal agencies.
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Description
A vulnerability in the Smart Install feature of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to trigger a reload of an affected device, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition, or to execute arbitrary code on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of packet data. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted Smart Install message to an affected device on TCP port 4786. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a buffer overflow on the affected device, which could have the following impacts: Triggering a reload of the device, Allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the device, Causing an indefinite loop on the affected device that triggers a watchdog crash. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvg76186.
References
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/103538 · Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- www.securitytracker.com/id/1040580 · Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04 · Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
- ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-05 · Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
- tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180328-smi2 · Vendor Advisory
- www.darkreading.com/perimeter/attackers-exploit-cisco-switch-issue-as-vendor-warns-of-yet-another-critical-flaw/d/d-id/1331490 · Press/Media Coverage
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-0171 · US Government Resource