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Prime CollaborationApplication · Cisco

CVE-2018-0321

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-06-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 11.6 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
A vulnerability in Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning (PCP) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to access the Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) system. The vulnerability is due to an open port in the Network Interface and Configuration Engine (NICE) service. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by accessing the open RMI system on an affected PCP instance. An exploit could allow the attacker to perform malicious actions that affect PCP and the devices that are connected to it. This vulnerability affects Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning (PCP) Releases 11.6 and prior. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvd61746.

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 confidence

Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning contains an exposed Java RMI (Remote Method Invocation) system in the Network Interface and Configuration Engine (NICE) service that requires no authentication. An unauthenticated remote attacker can leverage this open RMI port to execute arbitrary operations on the PCP platform and any devices connected to it, achieving remote code execution with high impact due to the critical CVSS score.

MitigationApply the Cisco patch (CSCvd61746) or upgrade to a PCP release beyond 11.6. As an interim control, implement network segmentation or firewall rules to restrict access to the RMI service port from untrusted networks.

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
Prime CollaborationApplication
Affected:<= 11.6
Prime Collaboration AssuranceApplication
Affected:<= 11.6
Prime Collaboration ProvisioningApplication
Affected:<= 11.6

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Cisco Prime Collaboration installation
    Locate the Cisco Prime Collaboration installation directory or check for the PCP service process running on the system. Common installation paths include /opt/cisco/pcp or C:\Program Files\Cisco\Prime Collaboration on Windows.
    Affected if The product is installed and running.
  2. Determine installed PCP version
    Use the application's web interface (typically https://hostname/pcp) and navigate to Administration > Software Updates or check the version via CLI if available. Compare the version number against the affected range (11.6 and earlier).
    Affected if The installed version is 11.6 or lower.
  3. Verify NICE service is active
    Check if the Network Interface and Configuration Engine (NICE) service process is running. On Linux, run 'ps aux | grep nice' or check systemctl status. On Windows, check Windows Services for a service named 'Prime Collaboration NICE' or similar.
    Affected if The NICE service is running and exposed.
  4. Test RMI port accessibility
    Scan the system for open RMI ports. The default RMI registry port is 1099, but the NICE service may use a custom port. Use 'netstat -an | grep -E "(1099|port)"' or an Nmap scan to identify open ports in the 1000-1100 range or any unusual high ports that may indicate RMI services.
    Affected if Port 1099 or other RMI-related ports are open and accessible from the network.
  5. Confirm RMI requires no authentication
    Attempt a benign RMI lookup or connection test to the exposed port from an untrusted host to verify that no authentication is required. Alternatively, review network firewall rules to confirm the RMI port is accessible from outside trusted networks.
    Affected if The RMI port is accessible from untrusted networks without authentication.

A system is affected if it runs Cisco Prime Collaboration (any component) version 11.6 or lower with the NICE service enabled and its RMI port exposed to the network without authentication.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 11.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the Cisco patch (CSCvd61746) or upgrade to a PCP release beyond 11.6. As an interim control, implement network segmentation or firewall rules to restrict access to the RMI service port from untrusted networks.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning release greater than 11.6 (latest available release from Cisco)

  1. 1. Identify the current Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning (PCP) version installed by accessing the administration interface or running: show version
  2. 2. Download the latest Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning release from the Cisco Software Download Center (software.cisco.com)
  3. 3. Review the Cisco PCP upgrade guide for pre-upgrade requirements including backup procedures
  4. 4. Create a full backup of the current PCP configuration and database
  5. 5. Perform a system health check to ensure all prerequisites are met before upgrade
  6. 6. Execute the upgrade following the documented upgrade procedure in the Cisco PCP administration guide
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the NICE service RMI port is no longer exposed to unauthenticated access
  8. 8. Confirm the new version is running: show version
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for version greater than 11.6 for any changes to functionality, API behavior, or migration requirements before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Prime Collaboration Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,440
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-0321 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data