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CatosOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2003-0216

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2003-05-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Unknown vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst 7.5(1) allows local users to bypass authentication and gain access to the enable mode without a password.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Local authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst switches running version 7.5(1) allows an attacker with local console access to bypass the enable mode password and gain privileged access without authentication.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched Cisco IOS version beyond 7.5(1) or replace the end-of-life hardware if patches are unavailable. Restrict physical access to console ports as a compensating control.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
CatosOperating system
Affected:= 7.5\(1\)

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the device type and operating system
    Connect to the switch console or use remote management and run 'show version' to confirm the device is a Cisco Catalyst switch running CatOS (not IOS)
    Affected if The device is a Cisco Catalyst switch running CatOS software
  2. Check the exact CatOS version
    Examine the 'show version' output and locate the software version number. It should display a version such as 'CatOS version 7.5(1)'
    Affected if The version string shows exactly 7.5(1)
  3. Verify enable mode password configuration
    Run 'show running-config' or 'show config' and look for 'enable password' or 'enable secret' lines in the configuration
    Affected if An enable mode password is configured on the switch
  4. Confirm console access exists
    Physical inspection: verify the console port (RS-232) is accessible or check if remote console/IPMI/ILO access is enabled
    Affected if Local console access is possible (physical or remote console)

You are affected if you have a Cisco Catalyst switch running CatOS version 7.5(1) with an enable password configured and console access is available to local attackers.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched Cisco IOS version beyond 7.5(1) or replace the end-of-life hardware if patches are unavailable. Restrict physical access to console ports as a compensating control.

Fix this in Catos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2003-0216 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data