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Ios XeOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2017-12230

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 user interface (web UI) of Cisco IOS XE 16.2 could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate their privileges on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to incorrect default permission settings for new users who are created by using the web UI of the affected software. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using the web UI of the affected software to create a new user and then logging into the web UI as the newly created user. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate their privileges on the affected device. This vulnerability affects Cisco devices that are running a vulnerable release Cisco IOS XE Software, if the HTTP Server feature is enabled for the device. The newly redesigned, web-based administration UI was introduced in the Denali 16.2 Release of Cisco IOS XE Software. This vulnerability does not affect the web-based administration UI in earlier releases of Cisco IOS XE Software. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCuy83062.

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

In Cisco IOS XE 16.2, the redesigned web-based administration UI introduced in the Denali release contains a privilege escalation vulnerability. When an authenticated user creates a new user through the web UI, the new user account is incorrectly assigned elevated permissions by default, allowing the attacker to gain higher privilege levels than intended upon login. This only affects systems with the HTTP Server feature enabled.

MitigationDisable the HTTP Server feature on affected Cisco IOS XE 16.2 devices if not required, or upgrade to a patched Cisco IOS XE software version that addresses this vulnerability (Cisco Bug ID CSCuy83062).

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:= 16.2.1

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 Cisco IOS XE version
    Run the command 'show version' or 'show version | include IOS XE' to display the installed software version
    Affected if The version displayed is exactly 16.2.1 (or falls within the 16.2.x family if considering broader affected ranges)
  2. Verify the HTTP Server feature is enabled
    Run 'show running-config | include ip http server' or 'show running-config all | include http' to check if the HTTP server is configured
    Affected if The output shows 'ip http server' or similar configuration indicating the HTTP Server feature is active
  3. Confirm the web UI is accessible
    Attempt to access the web-based administration UI via HTTPS (port 443) or HTTP (port 80) to verify the service is listening
    Affected if The web UI responds and accepts authentication, indicating the vulnerable interface is exposed
  4. Check for user privilege assignments in web UI
    Log into the web UI as an authenticated user, navigate to the user creation section, and observe the default privilege level assigned to newly created users
    Affected if Newly created users are incorrectly assigned elevated permissions (higher privilege than standard user level) by default

A system is affected if it runs Cisco IOS XE 16.2.1 with the HTTP Server feature enabled and the web-based administration UI is accessible, allowing authenticated users to create accounts with unintended elevated privileges.

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 HTTP Server feature on affected Cisco IOS XE 16.2 devices if not required, or upgrade to a patched Cisco IOS XE software version that addresses this vulnerability (Cisco Bug ID CSCuy83062).

Fix this in Ios Xe Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
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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-2017-12230 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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