CVE-2018-0244
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 the detection engine of Cisco Firepower System Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass a configured file action policy to drop the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol if a malware file is detected. The vulnerability is due to how the SMB protocol handles a case in which a large file transfer fails. This case occurs when some pieces of the file are successfully transferred to the remote endpoint, but ultimately the file transfer fails and is reset. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted SMB file transfer request through the targeted device. An exploit could allow the attacker to pass an SMB file that contains malware, which the device is configured to block. This vulnerability affects Cisco Firepower System Software when one or more file action policies are configured, on software releases prior to 6.2.3. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvc20141.
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 confidenceIn Cisco Firepower System Software, the detection engine fails to properly block malware-containing SMB files when a large file transfer partially succeeds before failing and being reset. An attacker can exploit this by sending a crafted SMB file transfer that bypasses configured file action policies designed to drop SMB files identified as malware.
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< 6.2.3CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm the product is Cisco Firepower Threat DefenseIdentify the installed Cisco product to ensure it is the Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) platform, not another Firepower productAffected if The device is not a Cisco Firepower Threat Defense appliance
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Determine the installed software versionAccess the Firepower Management Center or the FTD CLI and retrieve the current software version. Compare this version number to the fixed release 6.2.3Affected if The installed version is any release prior to 6.2.3 (for example, 6.2.2, 6.2.1, 6.2.0, or earlier)
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Verify SMB file inspection is enabledCheck the Firepower policy configuration to confirm that file inspection for SMB traffic is turned on. This is typically configured in the access control or file policy settingsAffected if SMB file inspection is enabled and the version is below 6.2.3
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Confirm file action policies for malware are configuredReview the file policy rules that define actions (such as block, alert) for SMB files identified as malware. Ensure these policies are applied to the relevant access control ruleAffected if File action policies for blocking malware in SMB are configured and the version is below 6.2.3
A user is affected if they are running any version of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense prior to 6.2.3 with SMB file inspection and malware blocking policies enabled.
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 data6.2.3
Upgrade Cisco Firepower System Software to version 6.2.3 or later to resolve this vulnerability.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-0244 — 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-2018-0244 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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