iOSOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2016-6412

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-09-24
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
The Cisco Application-hosting Framework (CAF) component in Cisco IOS 15.6(1)T1 and IOS XE, when the IOx feature set is enabled, allows man-in-the-middle attackers to trigger arbitrary downloads via crafted HTTP headers, aka Bug ID CSCuz84773.

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 confidence

The vulnerability exists in the Cisco Application-hosting Framework (CAF) component of Cisco IOS 15.6(1)T1 and IOS XE when the IOx feature is enabled. A man-in-the-middle attacker can intercept and manipulate HTTP traffic to the affected system, using crafted HTTP headers to trigger arbitrary downloads from the device, potentially exfiltrating sensitive configuration or system files.

MitigationDisable the IOx feature if not required, or apply the Cisco IOS/IOS XE patch for CSCuz84773. To mitigate MITM attacks, ensure network communications use mutual authentication/TLS and segment IOx-facing interfaces.

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:= 15.6\(1\)t1

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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. Verify Cisco IOS version is 15.6(1)T1
    Run 'show version' and look for the exact version string in the output
    Affected if The version shown is exactly 15.6(1)T1 (other 15.6.x versions or different release trains are not affected by this specific CVE)
  2. Confirm IOx feature is enabled
    Run 'show iox' or check the configuration for 'iox' under the global configuration mode
    Affected if IOx is enabled and running - the vulnerability only applies when IOx is actively enabled on the device
  3. Check if HTTP server is configured for IOx
    Run 'show ip http server status' or examine the configuration for 'ip http server' and any IOx-related HTTP service bindings
    Affected if HTTP server is enabled and accessible to the network segment where IOx operates
  4. Identify IOx-facing network interfaces
    Run 'show iox interface' or review the configuration for any interfaces assigned to the IOx service
    Affected if There are network-facing interfaces explicitly configured for IOx communication, as these are the vectors for the MITM attack

A device is affected only if it is running exactly Cisco IOS 15.6(1)T1, has the IOx feature enabled, and has HTTP services accessible on IOx-facing interfaces - all three conditions must be true.

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

Disable the IOx feature if not required, or apply the Cisco IOS/IOS XE patch for CSCuz84773. To mitigate MITM attacks, ensure network communications use mutual authentication/TLS and segment IOx-facing interfaces.

Fix this in iOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2016-6412 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data