Nx OsOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2016-1453
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in the Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV) GRE feature in Cisco NX-OS 5.0 through 7.3 on Nexus 7000 and 7700 devices allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via long parameters in a packet header, aka Bug ID CSCuy95701.
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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV) GRE feature of Cisco NX-OS versions 5.0 through 7.3 on Nexus 7000 and 7700 switches. The flaw allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending packets with abnormally long parameters in the GRE header, potentially compromising the entire switch.
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
= 4.1.\(2\)= 4.1.\(3\)= 4.1.\(4\)= 4.1.\(5\)= 4.2\(3\)= 4.2\(4\)= 4.2\(6\)= 4.2\(8\)= 4.2.\(2a\)= 5.0\(2a\)= 5.0\(3\)= 5.0\(5\)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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 model is Nexus 7000 or 7700Run 'show version' or 'show inventory' to identify the hardware platformAffected if Device is not a Nexus 7000 or 7700 switch (different models are not affected)
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Identify installed NX-OS versionRun 'show version' and locate the 'NX-OS' or 'system' version lineAffected if Version falls within 4.1(2) through 4.1(5), 4.2(2a) through 4.2(8), 5.0(2a), 5.0(3), 5.0(5), or any version up to and including 7.3
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Verify OTV feature is enabledRun 'show feature' and look for 'otv' or 'overlaytransport' in the enabled features listAffected if OTV feature shows as enabled (vulnerability only applies when OTV is active)
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Check OTV GRE configurationRun 'show otv' or 'show running-config | include otv' to view OTV configuration detailsAffected if OTV is configured with GRE encapsulation (the GRE component is the vulnerable path)
Device is affected if it is a Nexus 7000/7700 running NX-OS versions 4.1(2) through 7.3 with OTV GRE feature enabled and configured
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 appropriate Cisco NX-OS software update beyond version 7.3 that addresses this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, consider disabling the OTV GRE feature if not required, and enforce network access controls to limit exposure to untrusted networks.
Fix this in Nx Os
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-1453 — 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-2016-1453 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
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