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iOSOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2015-0649

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-03-26
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 IOS 12.2, 12.4, 15.0, 15.2, and 15.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via malformed Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) TCP packets, aka Bug ID CSCun63514.

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 confidence

A vulnerability in Cisco IOS allows remote attackers to cause device reload (denial of service) by sending malformed Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) packets over TCP. The vulnerability exists in CIP packet handling code across IOS versions 12.2, 12.4, 15.0, 15.2, and 15.3, where specially crafted packets trigger an unrecoverable fault leading to device restart.

MitigationApply the appropriate Cisco IOS security update (or upgrade to a fixed version) to remediate. Until patches are applied, consider filtering or blocking CIP/TCP traffic at network boundaries to reduce attack surface.

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\(33\)ird1= 12.2\(33\)ire3= 12.2\(33\)sxi4b= 12.2\(44\)sq1= 12.2\(52\)se= 12.2\(52\)se1= 12.2\(55\)se= 12.2\(55\)se3= 12.2\(55\)se4= 12.2\(55\)se5= 12.2\(55\)se6= 12.2\(55\)se7

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 Cisco IOS version
    Run the command 'show version' on the device CLI to obtain the IOS release number
    Affected if The displayed version matches or falls within the affected 12.2, 12.4, 15.0, 15.2, or 15.3 train families listed in the CVE (specific subversions include 12.2(33)ird1, 12.2(33)ire3, 12.2(33)sxi4b, 12.2(44)sq1, 12.2(52)se, 12.2(52)se1, 12.2(55)se, 12.2(55)se3, 12.2(55)se4, 12.2(55)se5, 12.2(55)se6, 1
  2. Confirm CIP protocol is enabled
    Run 'show running-config | include cip' or 'show ip sockets' to check for CIP-related services; CIP is typically bound to TCP port 44818
    Affected if CIP protocol services are active or configured on the device
  3. Verify CIP/TCP listening status
    Use 'show tcp brief' or 'show ip sockets' to check if the device is listening on TCP port 44818 (the standard CIP/TCP port)
    Affected if The device has TCP port 44818 in LISTEN state and is reachable over the network
  4. Check for CIP-related interface configurations
    Run 'show running-config | include (cip|industrial)' or examine interface configurations for CIP-enable interfaces
    Affected if Any interfaces are configured to handle CIP traffic

A device is likely affected if it runs a vulnerable IOS 12.2/12.4/15.0/15.2/15.3 version AND has CIP protocol services enabled and accessible via TCP.

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 appropriate Cisco IOS security update (or upgrade to a fixed version) to remediate. Until patches are applied, consider filtering or blocking CIP/TCP traffic at network boundaries to reduce attack surface.

Fix this in iOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2015-0649 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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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