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ExploitedIn CISA KEV

CVE-2018-0171

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2021-11-03 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel.

  • Published2018-03-28
  • WeaknessCWE-20 · CWE-787

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

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.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2018-03-2822:29CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2018-03-29Exploit-DB entryExploit-DB
  3. 2021-11-03Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
  4. 2021-11-03Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  5. 2021-11-03Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
  6. 2024-11-0816:04SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-03 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2018-0171?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2018-0171?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Cisco ios
BranchAffectedFixed in
15.2= 15.2\(5\)eno fix published

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As cisco, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • Cisco IOS and IOS XE
    Affected
    • = Cisco IOS and IOS XEno fix stated

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2018-04-19

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Vendor advisories

  • ICSA-18-107-04 CISA5 known affected

    Rockwell Automation Stratix and ArmorStratix Switches

    Allen-Bradley Stratix 5400 Industrial Ethernet Switches: versions 15.2(6)E0a and earlier; · Allen-Bradley Stratix 8000 Modular Managed Ethernet Switches: versions 15.2(6)E0a and earlier; · Allen-Bradley Stratix 5410 Industrial Distribution Switches: versions 15.2(6)E0a and earlier; · +2 more

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. CISA’s required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.due 2022-05-03
  2. Mitigation from the vendor CISA ICSA-18-107-04 · 5 productsRockwell Automation recommends users upgrade to FRN 15.2(6)E1 or later.
  3. Mitigation from the vendor CISA ICSA-18-107-04 · 5 productsRockwell Automation has provided knowledge base article number 1073268 on their website
  4. Mitigation from the vendor CISA ICSA-18-107-04 · 5 productsCisco has released new Snort Rules at https://www.cisco.com/web/software/286271056/117258/sf-rules-2018-03-29-new.htm
  5. Mitigation from the vendor CISA ICSA-18-107-04 · 5 productsCVE-2018-0171 - Snort Rule 46096 and 46097
  6. Mitigation from the vendor CISA ICSA-18-107-04 · 5 productsCisco adds the following notes for the Smart Install vulnerabilities (CVE-2018-0171 and CVE-2018-0156): Smart Install is turned off by express setup; however, upgraded switches but not re-setup may have it enabled. Disable the Smart Install feature with the no vstack configuration command if it is …
  7. Mitigation from the vendor CISA ICSA-18-107-04 · 5 productsHelp minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and confirm that they are not accessible from the Internet.

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-03 22:42 UTC
Nuclei template
available
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
EDB-44451
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
1 repository, unverifiedAlrikRr/Cisco-Smart-Exploit
PoC-in-GitHub
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
2021-11-03
Patch Due Date
2022-05-03
Ransomware Use
Unknown
Required Action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2018-03-28
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-4w6g-87mh-x63x

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-0171?

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.

Is CVE-2018-0171 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2018-0171 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2022-05-03.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2018-0171?

CVE-2018-0171 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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