CVE & CISA-KEV Catalog

CVE-2018-0171

CRITICALCISA KEVEPSS 100th pctl
9.8
CVSS v3
NVD

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.

CWE-20Improper Input ValidationCWE-787Out-of-bounds Write

How to fix

Actively exploited, no published fix found yet

CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Federal remediation due: 2022-05-03

Mitigation guidance may be in the linked vendor advisories in the References section below.

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CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploit Intelligence

99.51%probability of exploitation in 30 days
100thpercentile

Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 100% of all known CVEs.

Known Exploited Vulnerability (CISA KEV)

Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Smart Install Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software improperly validates packet data, allowing an unauthenticated, remote attacker to trigger a reload of an affected device, cause a denial-of-service (DoS) condition, or perform code execution on the affected device.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Remediation due: 2022-05-03

References

Vendor Advisory1
Government Resource1
Press / Media1

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVESeverityCVSSEPSSExploitedFix
CVE-2024-3400Critical10.0100%KEV + Ransom-
CVE-2021-45105Medium5.9100%-Fix
CVE-2021-44228Critical10.0100%KEV + RansomFix
CVE-2021-21985Critical9.8100%KEV + RansomFix
CVE-2018-7600Critical9.8100%KEV + RansomFix
CVE-2020-3452High7.5100%KEVFix
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-01-14.