Vulnerability record

CVE-2017-3881

Cisco IOS and IOS XE Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Severity: CriticalExploitation: Exploitation confirmedCISA KEV
What should I do?

This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: attackers are using it. If you run IOS and IOS XE, fix it now.

CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

US federal civilian agencies must remediate by Apr 15, 2022.

Patch status

No official fix confirmed yet

Until a fix ships, follow the vendor's mitigations and CISA's required action, limit exposure of affected systems, and watch this record for a patch.

Description

A vulnerability in the Cisco Cluster Management Protocol (CMP) processing code in Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a reload of an affected device or remotely execute code with elevated privileges. The Cluster Management Protocol utilizes Telnet internally as a signaling and command protocol between cluster members. The vulnerability is due to the combination of two factors: (1) the failure to restrict the use of CMP-specific Telnet options only to internal, local communications between cluster members and instead accept and process such options over any Telnet connection to an affected device; and (2) the incorrect processing of malformed CMP-specific Telnet options. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malformed CMP-specific Telnet options while establishing a Telnet session with an affected Cisco device configured to accept Telnet connections. An exploit could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code and obtain full control of the device or cause a reload of the affected device. This affects Catalyst switches, Embedded Service 2020 switches, Enhanced Layer 2 EtherSwitch Service Module, Enhanced Layer 2/3 EtherSwitch Service Module, Gigabit Ethernet Switch Module (CGESM) for HP, IE Industrial Ethernet switches, ME 4924-10GE switch, RF Gateway 10, and SM-X Layer 2/3 EtherSwitch Service Module. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvd48893.

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database. Official vulnerability data, reproduced as published.

Affected products

Products affected by this vulnerability, with versions and the source of each entry
ProductVendorAffected versionsSource
Cisco networking & securityCisco>= 3.2sg, <= 3.9eNVD
IOSCisco>= 12.2s, <= 15.1\(3\)svsNVD
IOS and IOS XECisco—KEV

Sources: NVD = NIST National Vulnerability Database; KEV = CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Intelligence timeline

Developments from the last 30 days, newest first.

  1. CVSS scoredUpdateKEV

    CVE-2017-3881 scored CVSS 9.8: Cisco IOS and IOS XE, Cisco IOS and IOS XE Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

    CISA lists this as exploited in the wild. Unpatched IOS and IOS XE systems are exposed to active attacks now.

    Basis: NIST National Vulnerability Database

1 earlier event is available with a subscription. See plans.

Coverage

We have not published a story about this vulnerability yet.

References