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iOSOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2012-0384

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2012-03-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
Cisco IOS 12.2 through 12.4 and 15.0 through 15.2 and IOS XE 2.1.x through 2.6.x and 3.1.xS before 3.1.2S, 3.2.xS through 3.4.xS before 3.4.2S, 3.5.xS before 3.5.1S, and 3.1.xSG and 3.2.xSG before 3.2.2SG, when AAA authorization is enabled, allow remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions and execute commands via a (1) HTTP or (2) HTTPS session, aka Bug ID CSCtr91106.

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

This is an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco IOS and IOS XE where AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) authorization is enabled. Remote authenticated users can bypass intended access restrictions and execute privileged commands via HTTP or HTTPS sessions. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of authorization checks when HTTP/HTTPS is used as the management interface.

MitigationApply Cisco security updates for the affected IOS/IOS XE versions. Alternatively, disable the HTTP/HTTPS server on affected devices when AAA authorization is enabled, or restrict access via ACLs on the VTY lines.

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
iOSOperating system
Affected:= 12.2= 12.2\(1\)= 12.2\(1\)dx= 12.2\(1\)s= 12.2\(1\)t= 12.2\(1\)xa= 12.2\(1\)xd= 12.2\(1\)xd1= 12.2\(1\)xd3= 12.2\(1\)xd4= 12.2\(1\)xe= 12.2\(1\)xe2
Ios XeOperating system
Affected:= 2.1= 2.1.0= 2.1.1= 2.1.2= 2.2= 2.2.1= 2.2.2= 2.2.3= 2.3= 2.3.0= 2.3.1= 2.3.1t

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
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 IOS or IOS XE version
    Execute 'show version' on the device CLI and note the firmware version string (for example, 12.2(1) or 2.1)
    Affected if The displayed version matches one of the affected versions: 12.2, 12.2(1), 12.2(1)dx, 12.2(1)s, 12.2(1)t, 12.2(1)xa, 12.2(1)xd, 12.2(1)xd1, 12.2(1)xd3, 12.2(1)xd4, 12.2(1)xe, 12.2(1)xe2 for IOS; or 2.1, 2.1.0, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.2, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.3, 2.3.0, 2.3.1, 2.3.1t for IOS XE
  2. Verify AAA authorization is enabled
    Run 'show running-config | include aaa authorization' or 'show aaa authorization' to check if AAA authorization is configured
    Affected if Output shows any AAA authorization method configured (such as 'aaa authorization exec default group' or similar)
  3. Confirm HTTP or HTTPS server is active
    Run 'show running-config | include ip http' or 'show ip http server status' to check if the HTTP/HTTPS server is enabled
    Affected if Output indicates 'ip http server' or 'ip http secure-server' is present in the configuration

Device is affected if it runs an affected IOS/IOS XE version AND has AAA authorization enabled AND has HTTP/HTTPS server configured, allowing remote authenticated users to bypass authorization via web management.

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

Apply Cisco security updates for the affected IOS/IOS XE versions. Alternatively, disable the HTTP/HTTPS server on affected devices when AAA authorization is enabled, or restrict access via ACLs on the VTY lines.

Fix this in iOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2012-0384 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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