Ios XeOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2018-0194
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 CLI parser of Cisco IOS XE Software allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject arbitrary commands into the CLI by insufficiently sanitizing command arguments before passing them to the underlying Linux shell. Successful exploitation enables the attacker to break out of the CLI and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the affected device.
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 device OS and versionRun 'show version' command on the device CLI and locate the IOS XE version string (typically shown as 'Version 16.x.x' or similar)Affected if The device runs Cisco IOS XE and the version is lower than 16.3.1 (for example, 16.2.x, 16.1.x, or earlier)
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Confirm the software is IOS XEIn the 'show version' output, verify the output contains 'IOS XE' in the software description (not classic IOS)Affected if The software is confirmed as Cisco IOS XE (not classic IOS or other platforms)
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Check if local CLI access is enabledReview device configuration with 'show running-config | include line vty|line console|username' to see if local CLI access lines are configuredAffected if Local CLI access (console, vty, or local username authentication) is configured on the device
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Identify privilege level configurationRun 'show privilege' or check 'enable' command configuration to see if privilege level 15 (full admin) is accessible via local authenticationAffected if Users can authenticate locally to privilege level 15 (root-equivalent) on the device
A device is affected if it runs Cisco IOS XE version earlier than 16.3.1 and has local CLI authentication configured, allowing an authenticated local attacker to inject commands with root privileges.
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 patches for the identified bug IDs (CSCuz03145, CSCuz56419, CSCva31971, CSCvb09542). Until patched, restrict local CLI access to trusted, authorized personnel only and monitor for unusual command execution patterns.
Fix this in Ios Xe
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-0194 — 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-2018-0194 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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