Ios XeOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2017-12239
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in motherboard console ports of line cards for Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers and Cisco cBR-8 Converged Broadband Routers could allow an unauthenticated, physical attacker to access an affected device's operating system. The vulnerability exists because an engineering console port is available on the motherboard of the affected line cards. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by physically connecting to the console port on the line card. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain full access to the affected device's operating system. This vulnerability affects only Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers that have removable line cards and Cisco cBR-8 Converged Broadband Routers, if they are running certain Cisco IOS XE 3.16 through 16.5 releases. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvc65866, CSCve77132.
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 physical vulnerability exists in Cisco ASR 1000 Series removable line cards and Cisco cBR-8 Converged Broadband Routers where an exposed engineering console port on the motherboard provides unauthenticated direct access to the device's operating system. An attacker with physical proximity to the line card can connect to this debug console port and gain full control of the affected device.
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
= 3.13.0as= 3.13.0s= 3.13.1s= 3.13.2as= 3.13.2s= 3.13.3s= 3.13.4s= 3.13.5as= 3.13.5s= 3.13.6as= 3.13.6s= 3.14.0sCVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/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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Identify the hardware modelUse 'show version' command or check device inventory to confirm the device is a Cisco ASR 1000 Series removable line card or Cisco cBR-8 Converged Broadband RouterAffected if The device model matches Cisco ASR 1000 Series line cards or Cisco cBR-8 Converged Broadband Routers
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Check the IOS XE versionRun 'show version' command and look for the IOS XE software version numberAffected if The installed IOS XE version is one of: 3.13.0as, 3.13.0s, 3.13.1s, 3.13.2as, 3.13.2s, 3.13.3s, 3.13.4s, 3.13.5as, 3.13.5s, 3.13.6as, 3.13.6s, or 3.14.0s
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Inspect physical access controlsReview physical security policies and access logs for the room or rack housing the device to determine if unauthorized physical access is possibleAffected if The device is located in an area with weak physical access controls (e.g., unlocked racks, shared datacenters, unrestricted equipment rooms)
You are affected if you run any of the listed IOS XE versions on a Cisco ASR 1000 Series line card or cBR-8 router and the device is accessible to unauthorized physical proximity.
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 IOS XE software updates that address this vulnerability (Cisco Bug IDs CSCvc65866, CSCve77132) and implement physical security controls to restrict access to datacenter/equipment rooms housing affected devices.
Fix this in Ios Xe
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 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 $7,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-12239 — 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-2017-12239 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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