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Application Policy Infrastructure ControllerApplication · Cisco

CVE-2017-6768

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-08-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 build procedure for certain executable system files installed at boot time on Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) devices could allow an authenticated, local attacker to gain root-level privileges. The vulnerability is due to a custom executable system file that was built to use relative search paths for libraries without properly validating the library to be loaded. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to the device and loading a malicious library that can escalate the privilege level. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain root-level privileges and take full control of the device. The attacker must have valid user credentials to log in to the device. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvc96087. Known Affected Releases: 1.1(0.920a), 1.1(1j), 1.1(3f); 1.2 Base, 1.2(2), 1.2(3), 1.2.2; 1.3(1), 1.3(2), 1.3(2f); 2.0 Base, 2.0(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

Local privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco APIC where a system executable built with relative library search paths allows an authenticated attacker to place a malicious library that gets loaded instead of the legitimate one, achieving root-level code execution.

MitigationApply the vendor patch per Cisco bug CSCvc96087; upgrade to a fixed release. If patching is immediately unavailable, restrict local shell access and monitor for unauthorized library placement in application directories.

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
Application Policy Infrastructure ControllerApplication
Affected:= 1.1\(0.920a\)= 1.1\(1j\)= 1.1\(3f\)= 1.2\(2\)= 1.2\(3\)= 1.2.2= 1.2_base= 1.3\(1\)= 1.3\(2\)= 1.3\(2f\)= 2.0\(1\)= 2.0_base

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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. Check Cisco APIC firmware version
    Access the APIC CLI and run 'show version' or check via the GUI under System > Controllers > Controllers > Firmware. Compare the displayed version string against the affected list: 1.1(0.920a), 1.1(1j), 1.1(3f), 1.2(2), 1.2(3), 1.2.2, 1.2_base, 1.3(1), 1.3(2), 1.3(2f), 2.0(1), 2.0_base
    Affected if The installed version exactly matches any version in the affected list
  2. Verify authenticated shell access exists
    Determine if any local or remote user accounts have shell access to the APIC operating system. Check for accounts with 'bash', 'shell', or 'admin' privileges using 'show user' or reviewing AAA configuration
    Affected if Any authenticated user account has shell or bash access to the APIC (even low-privilege users can potentially exploit this flaw)
  3. Identify vulnerable executables with relative library paths
    From the APIC CLI or admin shell, use 'ldd' or 'readelf -d' on system executables in /bin, /usr/bin, /opt to identify those built with RPATH/RUNPATH pointing to relative directories (e.g., $ORIGIN, ./)
    Affected if Any system executable shows relative library search paths like $ORIGIN or current directory (.) in its RPATH/RUNPATH
  4. Inspect application directories for unexpected library files
    List files in application and system binary directories (/opt/cisco/apic, /bin, /usr/bin, /usr/lib). Look for recently created .so files or duplicate library names that may have been placed for hijacking
    Affected if Unexpected .so files exist in directories where the vulnerable executable loads libraries, especially if they are newer than the system installation date

A user is affected if their Cisco APIC version matches any of the listed affected versions AND they have any authenticated shell access to the system, allowing potential library injection via relative path exploitation.

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 patch per Cisco bug CSCvc96087; upgrade to a fixed release. If patching is immediately unavailable, restrict local shell access and monitor for unauthorized library placement in application directories.

Fix this in Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2017-6768 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
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