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CVE-2018-0194· NVD / CVE Program· CNA cisco

Multiple vulnerabilities in the CLI parser of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject arbitrary command

Multiple 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.

HighCVSS 7.8 · v3.0—No exploit No fix recorded

Noroxi analysis

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Published
Apr 2, 2018
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.6% · 45th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

31

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.6%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

Affected systems

VendorProduct
ciscoios xe

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • cisco ios xebefore 16.3.1

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (cisco). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • n/a Cisco IOS XE

    • Cisco IOS XEaffected

Same product

cisco: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2023-20198Cisco is providing an update for the ongoing investigation into observed exploitation of the web UI feature in Cisco IOS XE Software.KEV
    100Now
  • CVE-2023-20273A vulnerability in the web UI feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to inject commands with the priKEV
    85Now
  • CVE-2018-0151A vulnerability in the quality of service (QoS) subsystem of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, reKEV
    73This week
  • CVE-2025-20188A vulnerability in the Out-of-Band Access Point (AP) Image Download, the Clean Air Spectral Recording, and the client debug bundles features
    48Plan
  • CVE-2019-12643Cisco REST API Container for IOS XE Software Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
    42Plan
  • CVE-2018-0315A vulnerability in the authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) security services of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthe
    41Plan

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-78 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

User input is inserted as text into a shell command. The shell may interpret special characters in the input as part of the command.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-78 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
const host = req.body.host;exec("ping -c 1 " + host, onResult);

Fixed

ts
const host = req.body.host;if (!/^[a-z0-9.-]{1,253}$/i.test(host)) return res.sendStatus(400);execFile("ping", ["-c", "1", host], onResult);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records