iOSOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2014-3263
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 · uneditedThe ScanSafe module in Cisco IOS 15.3(3)M allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via HTTPS packets that require tower processing, aka Bug ID CSCum97038.
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 · moderate confidenceThe ScanSafe module in Cisco IOS 15.3(3)M contains a vulnerability where specially crafted HTTPS packets requiring 'tower processing' can trigger a denial of service, causing the device to reload. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable via network packets and requires no authentication.
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
= 15.3\(3\)m= 15.3mCVSS 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
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:H/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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Identify the Cisco IOS versionExecute 'show version' on the device and locate the version string in the outputAffected if The version shown is exactly 15.3(3)M or 15.3M
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Confirm ScanSafe module is configuredExecute 'show scansafe detail' or 'show running-config | include scansafe' to check if the ScanSafe module is enabledAffected if The ScanSafe module appears in the configuration and is actively running
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Verify HTTPS inspection is enabledExecute 'show scansafe statistics' to check if HTTPS proxy/inspection is activeAffected if HTTPS traffic is being processed by ScanSafe (tower processing is occurring)
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Check for recent reloads or crashinfoReview 'show crashinfo' or 'show log' for evidence of unexpected reloads matching the CVE timelineAffected if The device has reloaded unexpectedly with ScanSafe-related error messages
The device is affected if it runs Cisco iOS 15.3(3)M or 15.3M AND has the ScanSafe module enabled with HTTPS inspection active, as the vulnerability requires tower processing of crafted HTTPS packets.
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 IOS update that addresses this vulnerability. As an interim measure, consider disabling the ScanSafe module or implementing traffic filtering for HTTPS traffic destined to the affected device until the patch can be applied.
Fix this in iOS
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-3263 — 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-2014-3263 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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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.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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