dbcve.org
Ios XeOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2017-6606

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-04-07
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
No privileges 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 a startup script of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the targeted system to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with the privileges of the root user. More Information: CSCuz06639 CSCuz42122. Known Affected Releases: 15.6(1.1)S 16.1.2 16.2.0 15.2(1)E. Known Fixed Releases: Denali-16.1.3 16.2(1.8) 16.1(2.61) 15.6(2)SP 15.6(2)S1 15.6(1)S2 15.5(3)S3a 15.5(3)S3 15.5(2)S4 15.5(1)S4 15.4(3)S6a 15.4(3)S6 15.3(3)S8a 15.3(3)S8 15.2(5)E 15.2(4)E3 15.2(3)E5 15.0(2)SQD3 15.0(1.9.2)SQD3 3.9(0)E.

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 vulnerability in a startup script of Cisco IOS XE Software allows an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with root user privileges. The attacker exploits the startup script to escalate privileges to root.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco IOS XE to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory. As a compensating control, enforce strict physical access controls to network infrastructure devices until the upgrade can be completed.

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:= 3.1.0s= 3.1.0sg= 3.1.1s= 3.1.1sg= 3.1.2s= 3.1.3s= 3.1.4as= 3.1.4s= 3.2.0se= 3.2.0sg= 3.2.0xo= 3.2.1s

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
Physical
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:H/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 checks

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

  1. Determine the Cisco IOS XE version
    Execute the command 'show version' on the device console or via CLI and locate the version string in the output. Look for a version number in the format 3.X.Xs, 3.X.Xsg, 3.X.Xse, 3.X.Xxo, or 3.X.Xas.
    Affected if The displayed version exactly matches any of the following: 3.1.0s, 3.1.0sg, 3.1.1s, 3.1.1sg, 3.1.2s, 3.1.3s, 3.1.4as, 3.1.4s, 3.2.0se, 3.2.0sg, 3.2.0xo, or 3.2.1s.
  2. Identify if scripting or configuration scripts are present
    Execute 'dir' or 'show fileystems' to list files on the device's flash or storage. Look for script files with extensions such as .tcl, .scr, or configuration rollback scripts.
    Affected if Any custom or user-defined script files exist in the device's file system that could be invoked during the startup process.
  3. Check for configuration replace or script exec features
    Execute 'show running-config | include script' or 'show configuration' commands to see if any scripting features or configuration replace operations are configured in the startup or running configuration.
    Affected if The device configuration includes any scripting, TCL interpreter, or configuration replace/exec features that process startup scripts.
  4. Verify physical access controls to the device
    Physically inspect the device location and console port access. Determine if the device is in a secured location with controlled physical access.
    Affected if The device is accessible to unauthorized personnel, as this vulnerability requires physical access to exploit.

A device is affected if it runs Cisco IOS XE version 3.1.0s through 3.2.1s and allows physical access to an attacker who could manipulate startup scripts to escalate privileges to root.

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

Upgrade Cisco IOS XE to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory. As a compensating control, enforce strict physical access controls to network infrastructure devices until the upgrade can be completed.

Fix this in Ios Xe Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,330
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,728.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-6606 — 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-2017-6606 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