iOSOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2013-5478
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 · uneditedCisco IOS 15.0 through 15.3 and IOS XE 3.2 through 3.8, when a VRF interface exists, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (interface queue wedge) via crafted UDP RSVP packets, aka Bug ID CSCuf17023.
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 confidenceThis is a denial of service vulnerability in Cisco IOS 15.0-15.3 and IOS XE 3.2-3.8. When a VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding) interface exists on the device, remote attackers can send specially crafted UDP RSVP packets that cause the interface queue to wedge, rendering the interface unresponsive and causing a denial of service.
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
= 15.0= 15.1= 15.2= 15.3
Ios XeOperating system
= 3.2.00.xo.15.0\(2\)xo= 3.2.0s= 3.2.0sg= 3.2.0xo= 3.2.1s= 3.2.1sg= 3.2.2s= 3.2.2sg= 3.2.3sg= 3.2.4sg= 3.3.0s= 3.3.0sgCVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check the IOS or IOS XE versionRun 'show version' and locate the version string in the output. Compare it against the affected versions: Cisco iOS 15.0, 15.1, 15.2, or 15.3; Cisco IOS XE 3.2.x through 3.3.0.Affected if The running version matches any of the listed affected versions.
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Verify VRF instances existRun 'show vrf' or 'show ip vrf' to list configured VRF instances.Affected if Any VRF is configured and active on the device.
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Confirm RSVP is enabledRun 'show ip rsvp' or 'show run | include rsvp' to check if RSVP is enabled globally or on any interface.Affected if RSVP is enabled or configured on any interface.
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Check interface configuration for VRF and RSVPRun 'show run interface' on each interface that belongs to a VRF, and look for 'ip rsvp' or 'rsvp' statements in the interface configuration.Affected if An interface is configured with both a VRF and RSVP.
The device is affected if it runs an affected IOS/IOS XE version, has at least one VRF interface configured, and has RSVP enabled on a VRF-facing interface, allowing specially crafted UDP RSVP packets to trigger the DoS condition.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the Cisco patch for bug ID CSCuf17023 by upgrading to a fixed IOS/IOS XE version. Until patched, consider filtering or blocking UDP RSVP packets from untrusted sources using ACLs on VRF-facing interfaces.
Fix this in iOS
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-5478 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-5478 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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