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Mobility Services EngineApplication · Cisco

CVE-2018-0116

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 RADIUS authentication module of Cisco Policy Suite could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to be authorized as a subscriber without providing a valid password; however, the attacker must provide a valid username. The vulnerability is due to incorrect RADIUS user credential validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by attempting to access a Cisco Policy Suite domain configured with RADIUS authentication. An exploit could allow the attacker to be authorized as a subscriber without providing a valid password. This vulnerability affects the Cisco Policy Suite application running a release prior to 13.1.0 with Hotfix Patch 1 when RADIUS authentication is configured for a domain. Cisco Policy Suite Release 14.0.0 is also affected, as it includes vulnerable code, but RADIUS authentication is not officially supported in Cisco Policy Suite Releases 14.0.0 and later. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvg40124.

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

CVE-2018-0116 is an authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Policy Suite's RADIUS authentication module that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to be authorized as a subscriber using a valid username without providing a valid password, due to incorrect RADIUS user credential validation. The vulnerability is exploitable when RADIUS authentication is configured for a domain. Affected versions include releases prior to 13.1.0 with Hotfix Patch 1, and Release 14.0.0 which contains the vulnerable code but does not officially support RADIUS.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco Policy Suite to Release 13.1.0 with Hotfix Patch 1 or later. For Release 14.0.0, disable RADIUS authentication if configured, as it is not an officially supported configuration.

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
Mobility Services EngineApplication
Affected:= 13.0.0= 13.1.0= 14.0.0

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/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. Identify Cisco Policy Suite installation
    Locate the Cisco Policy Suite or Cisco Mobility Services Engine installation and determine the software version using system inventory or version command (for example: show version, cps version, or consulting the installed packages)
    Affected if The installed version matches 13.0.0, 13.1.0, 14.0.0, or any release prior to 13.1.0 with Hotfix Patch 1
  2. Confirm exact version number
    Query the installed software version using the appropriate command or configuration file for Cisco Policy Suite. Compare your version against the affected ranges: 13.0.0, 13.1.0, 14.0.0, or any version prior to 13.1.0 with Hotfix Patch 1
    Affected if The version is 13.0.0, 13.1.0, 14.0.0, or any version earlier than 13.1.0 with Hotfix Patch 1
  3. Determine if RADIUS authentication is configured for any domain
    Inspect the domain authentication configuration settings for Cisco Policy Suite. Look for RADIUS server configuration entries or authentication method settings that specify RADIUS for subscriber or domain authentication (typically found in the domain configuration, authentication profiles, or RADIUS client settings)
    Affected if RADIUS authentication is enabled and configured for one or more domains in the Cisco Policy Suite deployment
  4. Verify RADIUS is actively in use
    Review the active authentication configuration to confirm RADIUS is the configured authentication method for subscriber authorization. Check domain-specific settings, authentication profiles, or RADIUS server bindings that indicate RADIUS is being used as the primary or fallback authentication mechanism
    Affected if RADIUS authentication is actively configured and available as an authentication option for subscriber or domain login

You are affected if you are running Cisco Policy Suite (or Cisco Mobility Services Engine) version 13.0.0, 13.1.0, 14.0.0, or any version prior to 13.1.0 with Hotfix Patch 1 AND RADIUS authentication is configured for a domain in your environment.

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 Policy Suite to Release 13.1.0 with Hotfix Patch 1 or later. For Release 14.0.0, disable RADIUS authentication if configured, as it is not an officially supported configuration.

Fix this in Mobility Services Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2018-0116 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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