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Nx OsOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2012-2469

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-08-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Cisco NX-OS 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, and 5.2 on Nexus 7000 series switches, when the High Availability (HA) policy is configured for Reset, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reset) via a malformed Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) packet, aka Bug IDs CSCtk34535 and CSCtk19132.

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

A denial of service vulnerability exists in Cisco NX-OS versions 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, and 5.2 on Nexus 7000 series switches. When the High Availability policy is configured for Reset, processing a malformed Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) packet can trigger an unexpected device reset, causing service interruption.

MitigationApply the relevant Cisco software update (refer to Cisco bug IDs CSCtk34535 and CSCtk19132) to patch the CDP handling flaw. Additionally, filter or disable CDP on untrusted network segments to reduce attack surface until the patch can be deployed.

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
Nx OsOperating system
Affected:= 4.2= 5.0= 5.1= 5.2
Nexus 7000Hardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Nexus 7000 10 SlotHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Nexus 7000 18 SlotHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Nexus 7000 9 SlotHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions

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
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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 model
    Run 'show version' or 'show inventory' to confirm the hardware is a Cisco Nexus 7000, Nexus 7000 10 Slot, Nexus 7000 18 Slot, or Nexus 7000 9 Slot switch
    Affected if The device is NOT a Nexus 7000 series switch (not affected)
  2. Check the NX-OS software version
    Run 'show version' and locate the 'NX-OS' or 'system' version line. Compare it against the affected versions: 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, or 5.2
    Affected if The NX-OS version is NOT 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, or 5.2 (not affected)
  3. Verify High Availability policy configuration
    Run 'show ha policy' or 'show high-availability policy' to check the configured policy action. Look specifically for a policy set to 'reset' as the action
    Affected if The HA policy is NOT configured for 'reset' (not affected)
  4. Confirm Cisco Discovery Protocol status
    Run 'show cdp neighbors' or 'show cdp interface' to determine if CDP is enabled and actively processing packets
    Affected if CDP is disabled or not configured (the malformed packet cannot be processed)
  5. Check for recent unexpected device resets
    Review 'show logging' output for unexpected reload reasons or 'show system reset-reason' for unexplained reset events around the time of potential CDP packet receipt
    Affected if No unexpected resets are logged and the conditions above are all met (likely not exploited but still vulnerable)

A device is affected if it is a Nexus 7000 series switch running NX-OS version 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, or 5.2, has the High Availability policy set to Reset, and has CDP enabled

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 the relevant Cisco software update (refer to Cisco bug IDs CSCtk34535 and CSCtk19132) to patch the CDP handling flaw. Additionally, filter or disable CDP on untrusted network segments to reduce attack surface until the patch can be deployed.

Fix this in Nx Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,330
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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-2012-2469 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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