iOSOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2013-5522
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 on Catalyst 3750X switches has default Service Module credentials, which makes it easier for local users to gain privileges via a Service Module login, aka Bug ID CSCue92286.
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 confidenceCisco IOS on Catalyst 3750X switches ships with default credentials for the Service Module, allowing any local user with access to the switch to authenticate to the Service Module and gain elevated privileges. This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability requiring physical or console access.
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
all versions
Catalyst 3750 XHardware / appliance
all versionsCVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm device is a Cisco Catalyst 3750X switchRun 'show version' or 'show inventory' command from console/SSH to identify the device model numberAffected if Device model shows Catalyst 3750X series switch
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Verify the Service Module feature is configuredRun 'show service-module' command to check if a service module is present and configured on the switchAffected if Service module is detected and active on the device
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Examine Service Module user account configurationAccess the service module interface (typically via 'service-module' command in IOS) and run 'show user' or review local user accounts configured on the moduleAffected if Local user accounts exist on the Service Module and can be enumerated
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Check for default or unchanged credentialsCompare the configured Service Module accounts against known default configurations. Attempt authentication with default credential patterns if they were not changed post-deploymentAffected if Service Module accounts are using factory default credentials or no password has been set
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Verify privilege escalation path existsFrom a standard IOS user account, attempt to access the Service Module using the identified credentials to confirm elevated access is achievableAffected if A standard local user can authenticate to the Service Module and gain elevated privileges
If the device is a Catalyst 3750X with an active Service Module using factory default credentials, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataChange the default Service Module credentials immediately using Cisco IOS configuration commands. Disable default accounts and implement strong, unique passwords following Cisco's password best practices.
Fix this in iOS
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-5522 — 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-2013-5522 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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- 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
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