Known Exploited Vulnerability
10.0
HIGH CVSS 2.0
CVE-2018-0171
Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Smart Install Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - [Actively Exploited]
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.

INFO

Published Date :

March 28, 2018, 10:29 p.m.

Last Modified :

Jan. 27, 2025, 7:58 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
CISA Notification
CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

For the benefit of the cybersecurity community and network defenders—and to help every organization better manage vulnerabilities and keep pace with threat activity—CISA maintains the authoritative source of vulnerabilities that have been exploited in the wild.

Description :

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.

Required Action :

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Notes :

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0171

Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2018-0171 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Cisco ios
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 2.0 HIGH [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 CRITICAL [email protected]
Solution
This addresses a vulnerability in Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software's Smart Install feature, which could allow remote code execution.
  • Upgrade affected Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software to a fixed version.
  • Refer to Cisco bug ID(s) CSCvg76186 for specific patched versions.
Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github

CVE-2018-0171 has a 13 public PoC/Exploit available at Github. Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2018-0171 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2018-0171 weaknesses.

CAPEC-3: Using Leading 'Ghost' Character Sequences to Bypass Input Filters Using Leading 'Ghost' Character Sequences to Bypass Input Filters CAPEC-7: Blind SQL Injection Blind SQL Injection CAPEC-8: Buffer Overflow in an API Call Buffer Overflow in an API Call CAPEC-9: Buffer Overflow in Local Command-Line Utilities Buffer Overflow in Local Command-Line Utilities CAPEC-10: Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables CAPEC-13: Subverting Environment Variable Values Subverting Environment Variable Values CAPEC-14: Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow CAPEC-22: Exploiting Trust in Client Exploiting Trust in Client CAPEC-23: File Content Injection File Content Injection CAPEC-24: Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow CAPEC-28: Fuzzing Fuzzing CAPEC-31: Accessing/Intercepting/Modifying HTTP Cookies Accessing/Intercepting/Modifying HTTP Cookies CAPEC-42: MIME Conversion MIME Conversion CAPEC-43: Exploiting Multiple Input Interpretation Layers Exploiting Multiple Input Interpretation Layers CAPEC-45: Buffer Overflow via Symbolic Links Buffer Overflow via Symbolic Links CAPEC-46: Overflow Variables and Tags Overflow Variables and Tags CAPEC-47: Buffer Overflow via Parameter Expansion Buffer Overflow via Parameter Expansion CAPEC-52: Embedding NULL Bytes Embedding NULL Bytes CAPEC-53: Postfix, Null Terminate, and Backslash Postfix, Null Terminate, and Backslash CAPEC-63: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) CAPEC-64: Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic CAPEC-67: String Format Overflow in syslog() String Format Overflow in syslog() CAPEC-71: Using Unicode Encoding to Bypass Validation Logic Using Unicode Encoding to Bypass Validation Logic CAPEC-72: URL Encoding URL Encoding CAPEC-73: User-Controlled Filename User-Controlled Filename CAPEC-78: Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding CAPEC-79: Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding CAPEC-80: Using UTF-8 Encoding to Bypass Validation Logic Using UTF-8 Encoding to Bypass Validation Logic CAPEC-81: Web Server Logs Tampering Web Server Logs Tampering CAPEC-83: XPath Injection XPath Injection CAPEC-85: AJAX Footprinting AJAX Footprinting CAPEC-88: OS Command Injection OS Command Injection CAPEC-101: Server Side Include (SSI) Injection Server Side Include (SSI) Injection CAPEC-104: Cross Zone Scripting Cross Zone Scripting CAPEC-108: Command Line Execution through SQL Injection Command Line Execution through SQL Injection CAPEC-109: Object Relational Mapping Injection Object Relational Mapping Injection CAPEC-110: SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter Tampering SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter Tampering CAPEC-120: Double Encoding Double Encoding CAPEC-135: Format String Injection Format String Injection CAPEC-136: LDAP Injection LDAP Injection CAPEC-153: Input Data Manipulation Input Data Manipulation CAPEC-182: Flash Injection Flash Injection CAPEC-209: XSS Using MIME Type Mismatch XSS Using MIME Type Mismatch CAPEC-230: Serialized Data with Nested Payloads Serialized Data with Nested Payloads CAPEC-231: Oversized Serialized Data Payloads Oversized Serialized Data Payloads CAPEC-250: XML Injection XML Injection CAPEC-261: Fuzzing for garnering other adjacent user/sensitive data Fuzzing for garnering other adjacent user/sensitive data CAPEC-267: Leverage Alternate Encoding Leverage Alternate Encoding CAPEC-473: Signature Spoof Signature Spoof CAPEC-588: DOM-Based XSS DOM-Based XSS CAPEC-664: Server Side Request Forgery Server Side Request Forgery

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

None

Updated: 2 months, 2 weeks ago
3 stars 0 fork 0 watcher
Born at : May 16, 2025, 9:13 a.m. This repo has been linked 5 different CVEs too.

Cisco SmartInstall Exploit [CVE-2018-0171]

cisco exploit cve-2018-0171 smartinstall

Python

Updated: 1 month, 2 weeks ago
10 stars 4 fork 4 watcher
Born at : Feb. 1, 2023, 3:51 a.m. This repo has been linked 1 different CVEs too.

None

Updated: 2 years, 7 months ago
0 stars 0 fork 0 watcher
Born at : Jan. 11, 2023, 1:21 p.m. This repo has been linked 1044 different CVEs too.

Ostorlab KEV: One-command to detect most remotely known exploitable vulnerabilities. Sourced from CISA KEV, Google's Tsunami, Ostorlab's Asteroid and Bug Bounty programs.

cisa-kev vulnerability 0day cisa exploits

Updated: 2 weeks, 5 days ago
581 stars 42 fork 42 watcher
Born at : April 19, 2022, 8:58 a.m. This repo has been linked 1287 different CVEs too.

Automates searching CVEs in the Metasploit database of exploits.

Python

Updated: 1 year, 1 month ago
5 stars 0 fork 0 watcher
Born at : Jan. 26, 2021, 6:44 p.m. This repo has been linked 8 different CVEs too.

None

Updated: 5 months, 1 week ago
14 stars 4 fork 4 watcher
Born at : May 25, 2020, 7:51 a.m. This repo has been linked 1029 different CVEs too.

checking alerts of X-CERT

Go

Updated: 4 years, 3 months ago
4 stars 0 fork 0 watcher
Born at : Nov. 15, 2018, 6:27 a.m. This repo has been linked 53 different CVEs too.

None

Python

Updated: 7 years, 1 month ago
0 stars 13 fork 13 watcher
Born at : July 25, 2018, 9:03 a.m. This repo has been linked 1 different CVEs too.

For novices

Updated: 1 year, 6 months ago
0 stars 1 fork 1 watcher
Born at : July 19, 2018, 3:22 p.m. This repo has been linked 3 different CVEs too.

None

Python

Updated: 1 year, 2 months ago
22 stars 14 fork 14 watcher
Born at : June 10, 2018, 3:58 p.m. This repo has been linked 1 different CVEs too.

A wrapper for Cisco's smi_check.py file.

Python

Updated: 3 years, 2 months ago
1 stars 2 fork 2 watcher
Born at : April 15, 2018, 2:43 a.m. This repo has been linked 1 different CVEs too.

None

Updated: 7 years, 4 months ago
0 stars 0 fork 0 watcher
Born at : March 29, 2018, 4:14 p.m. This repo has been linked 1 different CVEs too.

✍️ A curated list of CVE PoCs.

awesome cve poc

Updated: 1 month ago
3424 stars 685 fork 685 watcher
Born at : Feb. 2, 2017, 6:43 a.m. This repo has been linked 1044 different CVEs too.

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2018-0171 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

  • CybersecurityNews
Weekly Cybersecurity News Recap : Apple 0-day, Chrome, Copilot Vulnerabilities and Cyber Attacks

This past week was packed with high-severity disclosures and active exploitation reports across the global threat landscape. At the forefront, Apple rushed out emergency patches for yet another zero-d ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 24, 2025 (2 days, 22 hours ago)
  • Help Net Security
Week in review: Covertly connected and insecure Android VPN apps, Apple fixes exploited zero-day

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Published Date: Aug 24, 2025 (3 days, 6 hours ago)
  • Help Net Security
China-linked Murky Panda targets and moves laterally through cloud services

In its recently released 2025 Threat Hunting Report, Crowdstrike pointed out an interesting trend: a 136% surge in cloud intrusions. A good chunk of this surge is due to “China-nexus adversaries”, Mur ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 22, 2025 (5 days ago)
  • Help Net Security
AI gives ransomware gangs a deadly upgrade

Ransomware continues to be the major threat to large and medium-sized businesses, with numerous ransomware gangs abusing AI for automation, according to Acronis. Ransomware gangs maintain pressure on ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 22, 2025 (5 days, 8 hours ago)
  • TheCyberThrone
CVE-2025-43300 affects Apple Products

August 22, 2025Vulnerability SummaryCVE-2025-43300 is a zero-day out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the ImageIO framework used by Apple devices. ImageIO is responsible for decoding and processing mu ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 22, 2025 (5 days, 11 hours ago)
  • TheCyberThrone
CVE-2018-0171 Years old Cisco Bug exploited

August 21, 2025The CVE-2018-0171 vulnerability is a critical security flaw in Cisco IOS and IOS XE software, specifically affecting the Smart Install feature, which is designed for easy deployment of ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 21, 2025 (5 days, 21 hours ago)
  • Help Net Security
Russian threat actors using old Cisco bug to target critical infrastructure orgs

A threat group linked to the Russian Federal Security Service’s (FSB) Center 16 unit has been compromising unpatched and end-of-life Cisco networking devices via an old vulnerability (CVE-2018-0171), ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 21, 2025 (5 days, 23 hours ago)
  • BleepingComputer
FBI warns of Russian hackers exploiting 7-year-old Cisco flaw

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned that hackers linked to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) are targeting critical infrastructure organizations in attacks exploiting a 7-year-o ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 21, 2025 (6 days, 2 hours ago)
  • CybersecurityNews
FBI Warns of Russian Government Hackers Attacking Networking Devices of Critical Infrastructure

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a critical security alert regarding sophisticated cyber operations conducted by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Center 16, targeting networking in ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 21, 2025 (6 days, 2 hours ago)
  • The Cyber Express
Russia’s FSB-Linked Hackers Targeting Cisco Network Gear Used in Critical Infrastructure

How often do you hear people talking about issues of legacy systems—especially in critical infrastructure environments? Here’s another example of how deeply rooted this issue is—legacy Cisco router in ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 21, 2025 (6 days, 7 hours ago)
  • CybersecurityNews
Russian Hackers Exploiting 7-Year-Old Cisco Vulnerability to Collect Configs from Industrial Systems

A Russian state-sponsored cyber espionage group designated as Static Tundra has been actively exploiting a seven-year-old vulnerability in Cisco networking devices to steal configuration data and esta ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 21, 2025 (6 days, 8 hours ago)
  • Daily CyberSecurity
AI’s Dark Side: How a New Website Builder Is Fueling a Surge in Cybercrime

Example CAPTCHA that redirects to banking credential phishing website | Image: Proofpoint Artificial intelligence is lowering the barrier to cybercrime. According to a new report by Proofpoint, threat ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 21, 2025 (6 days, 14 hours ago)
  • Daily CyberSecurity
A Decade of Espionage: How a Russian APT Exploited Cisco Devices (CVE-2018-0171) for Years

Cisco Talos has released a new analysis exposing “Static Tundra,” a Russian state-sponsored threat actor that has been exploiting unpatched and end-of-life Cisco devices for more than a decade. The gr ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 21, 2025 (6 days, 14 hours ago)
  • Hackread - Latest Cybersecurity, Hacking News, Tech, AI & Crypto
Russian State Hackers Exploit 7-Year-Old Cisco Router Vulnerability

FBI and Cisco warn Russian hackers are exploiting a 7-year-old Cisco Smart Install vulnerability on outdated routers and switches worldwide. Thousands of outdated Cisco devices that no longer receive ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 20, 2025 (6 days, 18 hours ago)
  • The Register
FBI: Russian spies exploiting a 7-year-old Cisco bug to slurp configs from critical infrastructure

The FBI and security researchers today warned that Russian government spies exploited a seven-year-old bug in end-of-life Cisco networking devices to snoop around in American critical infrastructure n ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 20, 2025 (6 days, 20 hours ago)
  • The Hacker News
FBI Warns FSB-Linked Hackers Exploiting Unpatched Cisco Devices for Cyber Espionage

Aug 20, 2025Ravie LakshmananCyber Espionage / Vulnerability A Russian state-sponsored cyber espionage group known as Static Tundra has been observed actively exploiting a seven-year-old security fla ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 20, 2025 (6 days, 22 hours ago)
  • security.nl
Cisco en FBI waarschuwen voor actief misbruik van 7 jaar oud Smart Install-lek

Cisco en de FBI waarschuwen organisaties vandaag voor actief misbruik van een 7 jaar oud beveiligingslek waarmee aanvallers netwerkapparaten op afstand kunnen overnemen. Updates voor de kwetsbaarheid, ... Read more

Published Date: Aug 20, 2025 (1 week ago)
  • Daily CyberSecurity
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Published Date: Aug 15, 2025 (1 week, 5 days ago)
  • BleepingComputer
Chinese hackers breached National Guard to steal network configurations

The Chinese state-sponsored hacking group known as Salt Typhoon breached and remained undetected in a U.S. Army National Guard network for nine months in 2024, stealing network configuration files and ... Read more

Published Date: Jul 17, 2025 (1 month, 1 week ago)
  • The Hacker News
Chinese Hackers Target Taiwan's Semiconductor Sector with Cobalt Strike, Custom Backdoors

The Taiwanese semiconductor industry has become the target of spear-phishing campaigns undertaken by three Chinese state-sponsored threat actors. "Targets of these campaigns ranged from organizations ... Read more

Published Date: Jul 17, 2025 (1 month, 1 week ago)

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2018-0171 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • Modified Analysis by [email protected]

    Jan. 27, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    Nov. 21, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103538
    Added Reference http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040580
    Added Reference https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04
    Added Reference https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-05
    Added Reference https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180328-smi2
    Added Reference https://www.darkreading.com/perimeter/attackers-exploit-cisco-switch-issue-as-vendor-warns-of-yet-another-critical-flaw/d/d-id/1331490
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • Modified Analysis by [email protected]

    Sep. 04, 2020

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Removed CVSS V3 NIST AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CVSS V3.1 NIST AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Removed CWE NIST CWE-119
    Removed CWE NIST CWE-20
    Added CWE NIST CWE-787
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Oct. 09, 2019

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CWE Cisco Systems, Inc. CWE-20
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Apr. 24, 2018

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V2 (AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C)
    Added CVSS V3 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Changed Reference Type https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180328-smi2 No Types Assigned https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180328-smi2 Vendor Advisory
    Changed Reference Type https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04 No Types Assigned https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04 Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
    Changed Reference Type http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040580 No Types Assigned http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040580 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
    Changed Reference Type https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-05 No Types Assigned https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-05 Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
    Changed Reference Type https://www.darkreading.com/perimeter/attackers-exploit-cisco-switch-issue-as-vendor-warns-of-yet-another-critical-flaw/d/d-id/1331490 No Types Assigned https://www.darkreading.com/perimeter/attackers-exploit-cisco-switch-issue-as-vendor-warns-of-yet-another-critical-flaw/d/d-id/1331490 Press/Media Coverage
    Changed Reference Type http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103538 No Types Assigned http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103538 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
    Added CWE CWE-20
    Added CWE CWE-119
    Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.2\(5\)e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Apr. 20, 2018

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-05 [No Types Assigned]
    Added Reference https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04 [No Types Assigned]
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Apr. 13, 2018

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference https://www.darkreading.com/perimeter/attackers-exploit-cisco-switch-issue-as-vendor-warns-of-yet-another-critical-flaw/d/d-id/1331490 [No Types Assigned]
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Mar. 31, 2018

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103538 [No Types Assigned]
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    Mar. 30, 2018

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040580 [No Types Assigned]
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Base CVSS Score: 9.8
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Base CVSS Score: 10
Access Vector
Access Complexity
Authentication
Confidentiality Impact
Integrity Impact
Availability Impact
Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

93.41 }} 0.13%

score

0.99811

percentile