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iOSOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2017-6665

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2017-08-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
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 the Autonomic Networking feature of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to reset the Autonomic Control Plane (ACP) of an affected system and view ACP packets that are transferred in clear text within an affected system, an Information Disclosure Vulnerability. More Information: CSCvd51214. Known Affected Releases: Denali-16.2.1 Denali-16.3.1.

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 Cisco IOS/IOS XE Autonomic Networking feature allows an unauthenticated, adjacent (Layer 2) attacker to reset the Autonomic Control Plane (ACP) and view ACP packets transmitted in cleartext. The information disclosure occurs because ACP traffic that should be encrypted is instead sent unencrypted, enabling a nearby attacker to intercept sensitive network control traffic.

MitigationApply the Cisco security update for CVE-2017-6665 (reference CSCvd51214) to affected IOS/IOS XE releases. If patching is delayed, consider disabling the Autonomic Networking feature if not required, and implement network access controls to limit adjacent attacker reach.

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
iOSOperating system
Affected:= 15.2\(3\)e= 15.2\(3\)e1= 15.2\(3\)e2= 15.2\(3\)e3= 15.2\(3\)e4= 15.2\(3\)e5= 15.2\(3a\)e= 15.2\(3a\)e1= 15.2\(3m\)e2= 15.2\(3m\)e3= 15.2\(3m\)e6= 15.2\(3m\)e8
Ios XeOperating system
Affected:= 3.7.0e= 3.7.1e= 3.7.3e= 3.8.0e= 3.8.0ex= 3.8.1e= 3.8.2e= 3.8.3e= 3.9.0e= 3.9.1e= 3.10.4s= 3.10.8as

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Check Cisco IOS version
    Run 'show version' and locate the software version string (for example, 15.2(3)e, 15.2(3)e3)
    Affected if The version matches any of these: 15.2(3)e, 15.2(3)e1, 15.2(3)e2, 15.2(3)e3, 15.2(3)e4, 15.2(3)e5, 15.2(3a)e, 15.2(3a)e1, 15.2(3m)e2, 15.2(3m)e3, 15.2(3m)e6, 15.2(3m)e8
  2. Check Cisco IOS XE version
    Run 'show version' and locate the software version string (for example, 3.7.0e, 3.8.0e)
    Affected if The version matches any of these: 3.7.0e, 3.7.1e, 3.7.3e, 3.8.0e, 3.8.0ex, 3.8.1e, 3.8.2e, 3.8.3e, 3.9.0e, 3.9.1e, 3.10.4s, 3.10.8as
  3. Verify if Autonomic Networking is enabled
    Run 'show running-config | include autonomic' or check configuration for 'autonomic' related commands
    Affected if Autonomic Networking feature is configured or enabled on the device
  4. Check Autonomic Control Plane status
    Run 'show autonomic control-plane' or similar ACP status command if available in the IOS/IOS XE CLI
    Affected if ACP is active and ACP packets are being transmitted

Device is affected only if it runs an affected IOS or IOS XE version AND has Autonomic Networking feature enabled, allowing adjacent attackers to intercept unencrypted ACP traffic.

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 Cisco security update for CVE-2017-6665 (reference CSCvd51214) to affected IOS/IOS XE releases. If patching is delayed, consider disabling the Autonomic Networking feature if not required, and implement network access controls to limit adjacent attacker reach.

Fix this in iOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2017-6665 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data