Secure Access Control SystemApplication · Cisco
CVE-2018-0253
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 ACS Report component of Cisco Secure Access Control System (ACS) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on an affected system. Commands executed by the attacker are processed at the targeted user's privilege level. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of the Action Message Format (AMF) protocol. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted AMF message that contains malicious code to a targeted user. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the ACS device. This vulnerability affects all releases of Cisco Secure ACS prior to Release 5.8 Patch 7. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve69037.
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 confidenceA critical command injection vulnerability exists in the ACS Report component of Cisco Secure Access Control System. The flaw is due to insufficient validation of the Action Message Format (AMF) protocol, allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker to send crafted AMF messages containing malicious code that executes arbitrary commands at the targeted user's privilege level.
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
Secure Access Control SystemApplication
< 5.8= 5.8= 5.8\(0.8\)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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/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 if Cisco Secure ACS is installedCheck for ACS installation directories (typically under C:\Program Files\Cisco\ or /opt/CSCOacs/ on Linux) or look for the 'acs' service process runningAffected if The product is not installed or the service is not running (not affected)
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Check the installed ACS versionOn the ACS web interface, navigate to System Administration > Operations > Version or run 'show version' via CLI. Compare against affected versions: < 5.8, = 5.8, or = 5.8(0.8)Affected if Installed version matches < 5.8, 5.8, or 5.8(0.8) exactly
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Verify if the Report component is enabledAccess ACS web GUI, check under 'Monitoring and Reporting' or 'Reports' section to see if any report features are configured and activeAffected if Report component is enabled and accessible
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Check if AMF listener is exposedReview network listener configuration via 'show interface' CLI command or check for AMF service listening on ports (commonly 8080). Verify if management interface is reachable from untrusted networksAffected if AMF protocol service is listening and accessible from network
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Review access controls on management interfacesCheck network ACLs, firewall rules, or interface access lists that control who can reach the ACS management IP on ports used for AMF/web GUIAffected if Management interface is exposed to untrusted networks without proper filtering
A user is affected if they have Cisco Secure ACS version 5.8 (any patch), 5.8(0.8), or any version below 5.8 running with the Report component enabled and accessible over the network.
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 · scoped5.8
Upgrade to Cisco Secure ACS Release 5.8 Patch 7 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the ACS management interfaces and monitor for suspicious AMF traffic.
Release 5.8 Patch 7 or later
- 1. Identify the current version of Cisco Secure Access Control System (ACS) by accessing the ACS admin web interface or using the 'show version' command in the ACS CLI.
- 2. Navigate to the Cisco Software Download page and download Cisco Secure ACS version 5.8 Patch 7 or later.
- 3. Review the Cisco ACS upgrade guide for proper backup procedures before beginning the upgrade.
- 4. Create a full backup of the ACS configuration using the ACS admin interface or CLI command 'acs backup'
- 5. Ensure sufficient disk space and system resources are available for the upgrade process.
- 6. Apply the upgrade by uploading the patch file through the ACS admin web interface under the 'System Administration' > 'Operating System' > 'Patch Management' section, or use the CLI.
- 7. After the patch is applied, verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version number matches 5.8 Patch 7 or later.
- 8. Verify that the ACS services are running properly and that the web interface is accessible.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Secure Access Control System
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-0253 — 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-2018-0253 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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