iOSOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2016-6414
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 · uneditediox in Cisco IOS, possibly 15.6 and earlier, and IOS XE, possibly 3.18 and earlier, allows local users to execute arbitrary IOx Linux commands on the guest OS via crafted iox command-line options, aka Bug ID CSCuz59223.
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 iox component in Cisco IOS (15.6 and earlier) and IOS XE (3.18 and earlier) contains a vulnerability allowing local authenticated users to execute arbitrary IOx Linux commands on the guest OS via crafted iox CLI options. This is a local command injection vulnerability in Cisco's IoT extension platform.
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
= 15.6\(1\)t1CVSS 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
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check the Cisco iOS versionExecute 'show version' in privileged exec mode and locate the version string (for example, 15.6(1)T1)Affected if The version is 15.6(1)T1 or any iOS version 15.6 and earlier (or, for IOS XE, version 3.18 or earlier)
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Verify if the iox CLI feature is availableAttempt to enter the iox command in privileged exec mode, or check if 'show iox' returns any outputAffected if The iox command is recognized and returns output, indicating the IOx platform is present on the device
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Confirm iox is enabled and configuredRun 'show iox service' or 'show running-config | include iox' to see if IOx is actively configuredAffected if IOx shows as enabled or configured in the running configuration (the vulnerability requires IOx to be operational, not just installed)
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Check for local user access to the iox CLIVerify that local authenticated users with privilege level 1-15 can access the iox command space (test with a non-privileged account or review privilege assignments)Affected if Local users with any privilege level can access and execute iox subcommands
A system is affected if it runs Cisco iOS 15.6(1)T1 or earlier (or IOS XE 3.18 or earlier), has the iox feature enabled and accessible, and allows local authenticated users to interact with the iox CLI.
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 Cisco's official patches for IOS/IOS XE when available, and restrict local administrative access to the iox CLI to trusted, authorized personnel only following least-privilege principles.
Fix this in iOS
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6414 — 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-2016-6414 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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