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CVE-2016-6441: Cisco IOS Xe: Authentication bypass

CVE-2016-6441 is rated critical with a CVSS v3.0 base score of 9.8 and affects Cisco IOS Xe. Per its scoring, it can be exploited over the network, without authentication, without any user interaction. The scored impact on confidentiality, integrity and availability is the highest available.

Vulnerability description

A vulnerability in the Transaction Language 1 (TL1) code of Cisco ASR 900 Series routers could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a reload of, or remotely execute code on, the affected system. This vulnerability affects Cisco ASR 900 Series Aggregation Services Routers (ASR902, ASR903, and ASR907) that are running the following releases of Cisco IOS XE Software: 3.17.0S 3.17.1S 3.17.2S 3.18.0S 3.18.1S. More Information: CSCuy15175. Known Affected Releases: 15.6(1)S 15.6(2)S. Known Fixed Releases: 15.6(1)S2.12 15.6(1.17)S0.41 15.6(1.17)SP 15.6(2)SP 16.4(0.183) 16.5(0.10).

Severity breakdown

CVSS v3.0 9.8: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

  • Attack vector: Network. Exploitable remotely over the network, with no need for local or physical access.
  • Attack complexity: Low. No special conditions; the attack can be repeated reliably.
  • Privileges required: None. No account or prior access is needed.
  • User interaction: None. No action from any user is needed.
  • Scope: Unchanged. Impact stays within the vulnerable component.
  • Confidentiality impact: High. Total loss of confidentiality; sensitive data can be fully disclosed.
  • Integrity impact: High. Total loss of integrity; data or system state can be fully modified.
  • Availability impact: High. Total loss of availability; the component can be shut down.

Underlying weakness

CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer

The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary.

Affected products

  • Cisco IOS Xe: 3.17.0s; 3.17.1s; 3.17.2s; 3.17s; 3.18.0s; 3.18.1s; 3.18s

References