Known Exploited Vulnerability
9.8
CRITICAL
CVE-2018-0171
Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Smart Install Remote - [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.

Source :

[email protected]

Remotely Exploitable :

Yes !

Impact Score :

5.9

Exploitability Score :

3.9
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

Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github

CVE-2018-0171 has a 12 public PoC/Exploit available at Github. Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.

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
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 1
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2018-0171.

URL Resource
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103538 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040580 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-05 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180328-smi2 Vendor Advisory
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
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103538 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040580 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-05 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180328-smi2 Vendor Advisory
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

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).

Profile Photo
AlrikRr/Cisco-Smart-Exploit

Cisco SmartInstall Exploit [CVE-2018-0171]

cisco exploit cve-2018-0171 smartinstall

Python

Updated: 6 months, 2 weeks ago
6 stars 2 fork 2 watcher
Born at : Feb. 1, 2023, 3:51 a.m. This repo has been linked 1 different CVEs too.
Profile Photo
lnick2023/nicenice

None

Updated: 2 years, 1 month 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.
Profile Photo
Ostorlab/KEV

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: 3 weeks, 6 days ago
556 stars 36 fork 36 watcher
Born at : April 19, 2022, 8:58 a.m. This repo has been linked 1248 different CVEs too.
Profile Photo
tunnelcat/metasploit-cve-search

Automates searching CVEs in the Metasploit database of exploits.

Python

Updated: 7 months 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.
Profile Photo
xbl3/awesome-cve-poc_qazbnm456

None

Updated: 2 months, 1 week ago
13 stars 4 fork 4 watcher
Born at : May 25, 2020, 7:51 a.m. This repo has been linked 1029 different CVEs too.
Profile Photo
tomoyamachi/gocarts

checking alerts of X-CERT

Go

Updated: 3 years, 9 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.
Profile Photo
shalekesan/CiscoSmartInstallExploit

None

Python

Updated: 6 years, 6 months 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.
Profile Photo
astroicers/pentest_guide

For novices

Updated: 1 year 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.
Profile Photo
ChristianPapathanasiou/CiscoSmartInstallExploit

None

Python

Updated: 8 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.
Profile Photo
rikosintie/SmartInstall

A wrapper for Cisco's smi_check.py file.

Python

Updated: 2 years, 8 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.
Profile Photo
IPvSean/mitigate-cve

None

Updated: 6 years, 10 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.
Profile Photo
qazbnm456/awesome-cve-poc

✍️ A curated list of CVE PoCs.

awesome cve poc

Updated: 2 weeks, 3 days ago
3365 stars 683 fork 683 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.

  • Cyber Security News
Salt Typhoon Hackers Exploit Cisco Vulnerability To Gain Access To U.S. Telecom Networks

Cisco Talos has uncovered a sophisticated cyberespionage campaign by the state-aligned “Salt Typhoon” group targeting U.S. telecommunications infrastructure since late 2024. While credential theft rem ... Read more

Published Date: Feb 22, 2025 (8 hours, 48 minutes ago)
CVE-2024-20399 CVE-2023-20198 CVE-2018-0171
  • Dark Reading
Cisco Confirms Salt Typhoon Exploitation in Telecom Hits

Source: Geopix / Alamy Stock PhotoNEWS BRIEFFollowing research reports last week that Salt Typhoon, the Chinese threat actor known for spying on communications networks, exploited a Cisco vulnerabilit ... Read more

Published Date: Feb 21, 2025 (19 hours, 37 minutes ago)
CVE-2024-20399 CVE-2023-20273 CVE-2023-20198 CVE-2018-0171
  • Krypt3ia
Krypt3ia Daily Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) Digest

Date: 2.21.25 Top Headlines Firing of 130 CISA staff worries cybersecurity industry Summary: The firing of upwards of 130 cybersecurity professionals at the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Securit ... Read more

Published Date: Feb 21, 2025 (22 hours, 13 minutes ago)
CVE-2018-0171
  • The Hacker News
Cisco Confirms Salt Typhoon Exploited CVE-2018-0171 to Target U.S. Telecom Networks

Network Security / Vulnerability Cisco has confirmed that a Chinese threat actor known as Salt Typhoon gained access by likely abusing a known security flaw tracked as CVE-2018-0171, and by obtaining ... Read more

Published Date: Feb 21, 2025 (1 day, 6 hours ago)
CVE-2023-20273 CVE-2023-20198 CVE-2018-0171
  • BleepingComputer
Chinese hackers use custom malware to spy on US telecom networks

The Chinese state-sponsored Salt Typhoon hacking group uses a custom utility called JumbledPath to stealthily monitor network traffic and potentially capture sensitive data in cyberattacks on U.S. tel ... Read more

Published Date: Feb 20, 2025 (1 day, 21 hours ago)
CVE-2018-0171
  • security.nl
Cisco: inbraak systemen telecomproviders via gestolen inloggegevens

Een groep aanvallers die op de Cisco-systemen van Amerikaanse telecomproviders wist in te breken maakte gebruik van gestolen inloggegevens, zo stelt Cisco. In een analyse laat het netwerkbedrijf weten ... Read more

Published Date: Feb 20, 2025 (2 days ago)
CVE-2018-0171

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.
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
Exploit Prediction

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

74.49 }} -10.59%

score

0.98338

percentile

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability
: