dbcve.org
Unified Computing SystemApplication · Cisco

CVE-2017-12341

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-11-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 CLI of Cisco NX-OS System Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform a command injection attack. An attacker would need valid administrator credentials to perform this exploit. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation during the installation of a software patch. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by installing a crafted patch image with the vulnerable operation occurring prior to patch activation. An exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on an affected system as root. This vulnerability affects the following products running Cisco NX-OS System Software: Multilayer Director Switches, Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders, Nexus 5000 Series Switches, Nexus 5500 Platform Switches, Nexus 5600 Platform Switches, Nexus 6000 Series Switches, Nexus 7000 Series Switches, Nexus 7700 Series Switches, Unified Computing System Manager. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvf23735, CSCvg04072.

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 confidence

A command injection vulnerability exists in the CLI of Cisco NX-OS System Software during software patch installation. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation when processing patch images, allowing an authenticated attacker with administrator credentials to execute arbitrary commands as root by installing a crafted patch image before activation.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patch from Cisco once available. Until then, restrict administrator-level access to trusted personnel only and carefully validate any patch images before installation.

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
Unified Computing SystemApplication
Affected:= 7.0\(0\)hsk\(0.357\)
Nx OsOperating system
Affected:= 8.1\(0.59\)s0= 8.1\(1\)

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 installed Cisco NX-OS version
    Execute 'show version' on the NX-OS device CLI and locate the 'system: version' or 'NXOS: version' line in the output
    Affected if The displayed version matches exactly 8.1(0.59)s0, 8.1(1), or 7.0(0)hsk(0.357)
  2. Check for installed patch images
    Execute 'show install pie info' or 'show install active' to list currently installed patch images and their sources
    Affected if Any patch images are present that were not obtained from an official Cisco distribution channel
  3. Review patch installation history
    Execute 'show install log' or check system logs for recent patch installation events, noting timestamps and initiating user accounts
    Affected if Patch installations exist that were not performed by your known administrators or occurred outside expected maintenance windows
  4. Examine administrator account activity
    Review 'show accounting log' or equivalent audit logs for commands related to 'install' or 'patch' executed by administrator accounts
    Affected if Any install or patch-related commands were executed by accounts that should not have had patch installation privileges
  5. Verify patch file integrity
    If patch files exist on the system, use 'show file' or compare file hashes against officially published Cisco patch file hashes from trusted sources
    Affected if Patch files present on the system do not match official Cisco hash values or were sourced from unofficial locations

A system is affected if it runs NX-OS version 8.1(0.59)s0, 8.1(1), or 7.0(0)hsk(0.357) and has had any patch images installed, particularly from non-official sources.

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 the vendor-supplied patch from Cisco once available. Until then, restrict administrator-level access to trusted personnel only and carefully validate any patch images before installation.

Fix this in Unified Computing System Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,080
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,928.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-12341 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2017-12341 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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