dbcve.org
Ios XeOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2017-12226

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-09-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
A vulnerability in the web-based Wireless Controller GUI of Cisco IOS XE Software for Cisco 5760 Wireless LAN Controllers, Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E (Wireless) Switches, and Cisco New Generation Wireless Controllers (NGWC) 3850 could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate their privileges on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to incomplete input validation of HTTP requests by the affected GUI, if the GUI connection state or protocol changes. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to the Wireless Controller GUI as a Lobby Administrator user of an affected device and subsequently changing the state or protocol for their connection to the GUI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate their privilege level to administrator and gain full control of the affected device. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products if they are running Cisco IOS XE Software Release 3.7.0E, 3.7.1E, 3.7.2E, 3.7.3E, 3.7.4E, or 3.7.5E: Cisco 5760 Wireless LAN Controllers, Cisco Catalyst 4500E Supervisor Engine 8-E (Wireless) Switches, Cisco New Generation Wireless Controllers (NGWC) 3850. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvd73746.

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

A privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller GUI allows an authenticated Lobby Administrator user to elevate to full administrator privileges by manipulating HTTP requests during GUI connection state or protocol changes, due to incomplete input validation.

MitigationApply Cisco-provided software updates/patches for the affected IOS XE releases (3.7.0E-3.7.5E) or upgrade to a fixed release; limit Lobby Administrator access and monitor for suspicious GUI connection changes in the interim.

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
Ios XeOperating system
Affected:= 3.7.0e= 3.7.1e= 3.7.2e= 3.7.3e= 3.7.4e= 3.7.5e

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the IOS XE version
    Use the command 'show version' or check the system banner to determine the installed Cisco IOS XE version
    Affected if The displayed version matches 3.7.0e, 3.7.1e, 3.7.2e, 3.7.3e, 3.7.4e, or 3.7.5e
  2. Confirm Wireless Controller GUI is enabled
    Check if the wireless management GUI interface is accessible and active - look for the Wireless Controller GUI process or service in the system configuration using 'show running-config | include wireless'
    Affected if Wireless Controller GUI feature is enabled and accessible on the device
  3. Verify existence of Lobby Administrator accounts
    Review user accounts configured on the device using 'show running-config | include username' or check the AAA configuration for privilege level assignments
    Affected if Any account with Lobby Administrator privileges exists on the system

You are affected if your device runs Cisco IOS XE versions 3.7.0E through 3.7.5E and has the Wireless Controller GUI enabled with at least one Lobby Administrator account configured.

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 Cisco-provided software updates/patches for the affected IOS XE releases (3.7.0E-3.7.5E) or upgrade to a fixed release; limit Lobby Administrator access and monitor for suspicious GUI connection changes in the interim.

Fix this in Ios Xe Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
27.0 hours of engineering $4,800
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2017-12226 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
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