Ios XeOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2018-0193
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 · uneditedMultiple vulnerabilities in the CLI parser of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject arbitrary commands into the CLI of the affected software, which could allow the attacker to gain access to the underlying Linux shell of an affected device and execute commands with root privileges on the device. The vulnerabilities exist because the affected software does not sufficiently sanitize command arguments before passing commands to the Linux shell for execution. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by submitting a malicious CLI command to the affected software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to break from the CLI of the affected software, which could allow the attacker to gain access to the underlying Linux shell on an affected device and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the device. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCuz03145, CSCuz56419, CSCva31971, CSCvb09542.
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 confidenceMultiple vulnerabilities in the Cisco IOS XE CLI parser allow an authenticated local attacker to inject arbitrary commands by submitting malicious CLI commands. The CLI does not properly sanitize arguments before passing them to the underlying Linux shell, enabling the attacker to escape the CLI and execute commands with root privileges.
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
< 16.3.1CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the operating systemRun 'show version' or check the system banner to confirm the device is running Cisco IOS XEAffected if The device is NOT running Cisco IOS XE (different Cisco platforms or operating systems are not affected)
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Determine the IOS XE versionExecute 'show version' and locate the version string (typically displays as 'IOS XE Version X.X.X' or similar)Affected if The installed version is lower than 16.3.1 (for example, 16.2.x, 16.1.x, or earlier)
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Verify CLI access is availableConfirm that the command-line interface is accessible via console, SSH, or Telnet by checking the running configuration with 'show running-config | include line vty' or 'show running-config | include line console'Affected if CLI access is enabled and the attacker has valid authentication credentials to access the device
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Check for privilege escalation indicatorsReview recent system logs or accounting logs for unexpected commands executed at elevated privilege levels, or check for any unauthorized user accounts added to the deviceAffected if Unexpected commands appear in logs or unauthorized accounts exist, suggesting the vulnerability may have been exploited
The environment is affected if the device runs Cisco IOS XE version earlier than 16.3.1 and has CLI access enabled for authenticated users.
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.
From vendor data16.3.1
Apply the relevant Cisco IOS XE software updates from Cisco's security advisory for this vulnerability. Restrict CLI access to trusted, authorized personnel only.
Fix this in Ios Xe
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-0193 — 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-2018-0193 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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