Ios XeOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2018-0150
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to a device running an affected release of Cisco IOS XE Software with the default username and password that are used at initial boot, aka a Static Credential Vulnerability. The vulnerability is due to an undocumented user account with privilege level 15 that has a default username and password. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using this account to remotely connect to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to the device with privilege level 15 access. This vulnerability affects Cisco devices that are running a vulnerable release of Cisco IOS XE Software Release 16.x. This vulnerability does not affect Cisco IOS XE Software releases prior to Release 16.x. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve89880.
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 confidenceCisco IOS XE Software versions 16.x contain an undocumented static user account with privilege level 15 (full administrative access) that uses a default username and password present at initial boot. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this to gain full administrative control over affected devices.
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
= 16.5.1CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the IOS XE versionRun 'show version' on the device CLI and locate the version string in the output. Look for a version number starting with 16.Affected if The device runs IOS XE version 16.5.1 specifically
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Review configured user accountsRun 'show running-config | include username' or 'show run | section username' to list all configured usernames in the device configuration.Affected if An undocumented or unknown static username is present besides accounts you intentionally created
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Check user privilege levelsRun 'show users' or examine the username configuration entries to identify any account with privilege level 15.Affected if There is a privilege level 15 account that was not created by your organization
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Verify default credential responsivenessAttempt to access the device management interfaces (HTTP, SSH, Telnet) using the documented default credentials for this vulnerability - research the specific default username/password pair associated with CSCve89880.Affected if The default credentials successfully authenticate and grant full administrative access
A device is affected if it runs IOS XE version 16.5.1 and contains an undocumented static account with privilege level 15 that uses the default credentials present at initial boot.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the Cisco IOS XE software update that addresses this vulnerability per Cisco Bug CSCve89880, or change/disable the undocumented default account if a patch is not immediately available. Restrict management plane access to trusted networks in the interim.
Cisco IOS XE 16.6.1 or later in the 16.x release train
- 1. Identify the current Cisco IOS XE Software version running on the affected device using 'show version' command.
- 2. Confirm the device is running a vulnerable 16.x release (16.5.1 or other 16.x versions).
- 3. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade to minimize disruption.
- 4. Download the fixed Cisco IOS XE software release from Cisco (typically 16.6.1 or later in the 16.x train).
- 5. Verify the software image integrity using the checksum provided on Cisco's download page.
- 6. Upload the new software image to the device's flash storage.
- 7. Configure the device to boot with the new image using 'boot system' command.
- 8. Reboot the device to load the patched software release.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Ios Xe
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-0150 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-0150 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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