LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2017-6738: The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) subsystem of Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software contains multiple...

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) subsystem of Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software contains multiple vulnerabilities that could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to remotely execute code on an affected system or cause an affected system to reload. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending a crafted SNMP packet to an affected system via IPv4 or IPv6. Only traffic directed to an affected system can be used to exploit these vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities are due to a buffer overflow condition in the SNMP subsystem of the affected software. The vulnerabilities affect all versions of SNMP - Versions 1, 2c, and 3. To exploit these vulnerabilities via SNMP Version 2c or earlier, the attacker must know the SNMP read-only community string for the affected system. To exploit these vulnerabilities via SNMP Version 3, the attacker must have user credentials for the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code and obtain full control of the affected system or cause the affected system to reload. Customers are advised to apply the workaround as contained in the Workarounds section below. Fixed software information is available via the Cisco IOS Software Checker. All devices that have enabled SNMP and have not explicitly excluded the affected MIBs or OIDs should be considered vulnerable. There are workarounds that address these vulnerabilities.

HighCVSS 8.8Known exploitedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysiscritical

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw affects Cisco IOS and IOS XE devices with SNMP enabled. An authenticated remote attacker could take full control of a vulnerable network device or force it to reload. Because CISA lists CVE-2017-6738 in KEV, treat exposed affected devices as urgent remediation targets.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation for network infrastructure because compromise could give attackers control over routing, switching, or availability. KEV status means this should be handled as an active-risk item, not routine backlog maintenance.

Technical view

The Cisco SNMP subsystem contains buffer overflow vulnerabilities across SNMP v1, v2c, and v3. Exploitation requires the SNMP read-only community string for v1/v2c or valid SNMPv3 credentials. A crafted SNMP packet sent to the affected device over IPv4 or IPv6 can enable arbitrary code execution or denial of service.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely where Cisco IOS or IOS XE devices run affected releases, have SNMP enabled, and have not excluded the affected MIBs or OIDs. Devices reachable from management networks, partners, or the internet are higher risk.

Exploitation context

Active exploitation is supported by the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities listing. The public bundle does not provide campaign details, exploit maturity, or observed targets. The attack is authenticated but low-complexity once required SNMP community strings or credentials are available.

Researcher notes

Key scoping questions are SNMP enablement, software train, credential exposure, and whether affected MIBs or OIDs are excluded. The source bundle confirms fixed software availability through Cisco tooling but does not enumerate every fixed target release.

Mitigation direction

  • Use Cisco IOS Software Checker to identify fixed software for each affected device.
  • Apply Cisco's documented workaround where immediate upgrade is not possible.
  • Treat SNMP-enabled devices without affected MIB or OID exclusions as vulnerable.
  • Reduce SNMP reachability to trusted management paths only.
  • Review SNMP community strings and SNMPv3 credentials for unnecessary access.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Cisco IOS and IOS XE devices and compare versions with Cisco's affected lists.
  • Confirm whether SNMP is enabled on each device.
  • Identify whether SNMP v1, v2c, or v3 is in use.
  • Verify affected MIBs or OIDs are explicitly excluded where using the workaround.
  • Confirm upgraded devices are on Cisco-identified fixed software.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-119: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
description · low confidence lookup

Execution behavior lookup

The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2017-6738 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8.8 (3.0)
Known Exploited
Yes
Published

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

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

CISA KEV status

Status
Known exploited
Source
CISA / ADP
Date added
Not provided

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
8.8CVSS 3.0HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

8.8High
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2017-6738Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
CiscoIOS12.2(53)SE1, 12.2(55)SE, 12.2(50)SE2, 12.2(50)SE1, 12.2(50)SE5, 12.2(53)SE, 12.2(55)SE3, 12.2(55)SE2, 12.2(52)SE, 12.2(58)SE, 12.2(50)SE3, 12.2(55)SE1, 12.2(53)SE2, 12.2(52)SE1, 12.2(54)SE, 12.2(50)SE4, 12.2(50)SE, 12.2(58)SE1, 12.2(55)SE4, 12.2(58)SE2, 12.2(55)SE5, 12.2(55)SE6, 12.2(55)SE7, 12.2(55)SE8, 12.2(55)SE9, 12.2(55)SE10, 12.2(55)SE11, 12.2(53)EX, 12.2(52)EX, 12.2(55)EX, 12.2(52)EX1, 12.2(55)EX1, 12.2(55)EX2, 12.2(55)EX3, 12.2(58)EX, 12.2(55)EY, 12.2(52)EY1, 12.2(52)EY, 12.2(53)EY, 12.2(52)EY2, 12.2(52)EY1b, 12.2(52)EY1c, 12.2(58)EY, 12.2(52)EY3, 12.2(52)EY2a, 12.2(58)EY1, 12.2(52)EY4, 12.2(52)EY3a, 12.2(58)EY2, 12.2(58)EZ, 12.2(53)EZ, 12.2(55)EZ, 12.2(60)EZ, 12.2(60)EZ1, 12.2(60)EZ2, 12.2(60)EZ3, 12.2(60)EZ4, 12.2(60)EZ5, 12.2(60)EZ6, 12.2(60)EZ7, 12.2(60)EZ8, 12.2(60)EZ9, 12.2(60)EZ10, 12.2(60)EZ11, 12.2(50)SG3, 12.2(53)SG, 12.2(50)SG6, 12.2(53)SG1, 12.2(53)SG2, 12.2(50)SG5, 12.2(53)SG3, 12.2(50)SG8, 12.2(50)SG2, 12.2(54)SG1, 12.2(50)SG1, 12.2(52)SG, 12.2(54)SG, 12.2(50)SG, 12.2(50)SG7, 12.2(53)SG4, 12.2(50)SG4, 12.2(53)SG5, 12.2(53)SG6, 12.2(53)SG7, 12.2(53)SG8, 12.2(53)SG9, 12.2(53)SG10, 12.2(53)SG11, 12.2(33)SXI, 12.2(33)SXI1, 12.2(52)XO, 12.2(54)XO, 12.2(50)SQ2, 12.2(50)SQ1, 12.2(50)SQ, 12.2(50)SQ3, 12.2(50)SQ4, 12.2(50)SQ5, 12.2(50)SQ6, 12.2(50)SQ7, 15.0(1)XO1, 15.0(1)XO, 15.0(2)XO, 15.3(1)T, 15.3(2)T, 15.3(1)T1, 15.3(1)T2, 15.3(1)T3, 15.3(1)T4, 15.3(2)T1, 15.3(2)T2, 15.3(2)T3, 15.3(2)T4, 15.0(1)EY, 15.0(1)EY1, 15.0(1)EY2, 15.0(2)EY, 15.0(2)EY1, 15.0(2)EY2, 15.0(2)EY3, 12.2(54)WO, 15.0(1)SE, 15.0(2)SE, 15.0(1)SE1, 15.0(1)SE2, 15.0(1)SE3, 15.0(2)SE1, 15.0(2)SE2, 15.0(2)SE3, 15.0(2)SE4, 15.0(2)SE5, 15.0(2)SE6, 15.0(2)SE7, 15.0(2)SE8, 15.0(2)SE9, 15.0(2)SE10, 15.0(2)SE10a, 15.1(1)SG, 15.1(2)SG, 15.1(1)SG1, 15.1(1)SG2, 15.1(2)SG1, 15.1(2)SG2, 15.1(2)SG3, 15.1(2)SG4, 15.1(2)SG5, 15.1(2)SG6, 15.1(2)SG7, 15.1(2)SG8, 15.2(4)M, 15.2(4)M1, 15.2(4)M2, 15.2(4)M4, 15.2(4)M3, 15.2(4)M5, 15.2(4)M8, 15.2(4)M10, 15.2(4)M7, 15.2(4)M6, 15.2(4)M9, 15.2(4)M6a, 15.2(4)M11, 15.0(2)SG, 15.0(2)SG1, 15.0(2)SG2, 15.0(2)SG3, 15.0(2)SG4, 15.0(2)SG5, 15.0(2)SG6, 15.0(2)SG7, 15.0(2)SG8, 15.0(2)SG9, 15.0(2)SG10, 15.0(2)SG11, 15.0(2)SG11a, 15.0(1)EX, 15.0(2)EX, 15.0(2)EX1, 15.0(2)EX2, 15.0(2)EX3, 15.0(2)EX4, 15.0(2)EX5, 15.0(2)EX8, 15.0(2a)EX5, 15.0(2)EX10, 15.0(2)EX11, 15.0(2)EX13, 15.0(2)EX12, 15.2(2)GC, 15.2(3)GC, 15.2(3)GC1, 15.2(4)GC, 15.2(4)GC2, 15.2(4)GC3, 15.4(1)T, 15.4(2)T, 15.4(1)T2, 15.4(1)T1, 15.4(1)T3, 15.4(2)T1, 15.4(2)T3, 15.4(2)T2, 15.4(1)T4, 15.4(2)T4, 15.0(2)EA, 15.0(2)EA1, 15.2(1)E, 15.2(2)E, 15.2(1)E1, 15.2(3)E, 15.2(1)E2, 15.2(1)E3, 15.2(2)E1, 15.2(4)E, 15.2(3)E1, 15.2(2)E2, 15.2(2a)E1, 15.2(2)E3, 15.2(2a)E2, 15.2(3)E2, 15.2(3a)E, 15.2(3)E3, 15.2(4)E1, 15.2(2)E4, 15.2(2)E5, 15.2(4)E2, 15.2(3)E4, 15.2(5)E, 15.2(4)E3, 15.2(2)E6, 15.2(5a)E, 15.2(5)E1, 15.2(5b)E, 15.2(2)E5a, 15.2(5c)E, 15.2(2)E5b, 15.2(5a)E1, 15.2(4)E4, 15.2(5)E2, 15.3(3)M, 15.3(3)M1, 15.3(3)M2, 15.3(3)M3, 15.3(3)M5, 15.3(3)M4, 15.3(3)M6, 15.3(3)M7, 15.3(3)M8, 15.3(3)M9, 15.3(3)M8a, 15.2(4)JN, 15.0(2)EZ, 15.2(1)EY, 15.0(2)EJ, 15.0(2)EJ1, 15.2(1)SY, 15.2(1)SY1, 15.2(1)SY0a, 15.2(1)SY2, 15.2(2)SY, 15.2(1)SY1a, 15.2(2)SY1, 15.2(2)SY2, 15.2(1)SY3, 15.2(1)SY4, 15.2(5)EX, 15.2(4)JAZ1, 15.0(2)EK, 15.0(2)EK1, 15.4(1)CG, 15.4(1)CG1, 15.4(2)CG, 15.2(2)EB, 15.2(2)EB1, 15.2(2)EB2, 15.5(1)T, 15.5(1)T1, 15.5(2)T, 15.5(1)T2, 15.5(1)T3, 15.5(2)T1, 15.5(2)T2, 15.5(2)T3, 15.5(2)T4, 15.5(1)T4, 15.2(2)EA, 15.2(2)EA1, 15.2(2)EA2, 15.2(3)EA, 15.2(4)EA, 15.2(4)EA1, 15.2(2)EA3, 15.2(4)EA3, 15.2(5)EA, 15.2(4)EA4, 15.2(4)EA5, 15.5(3)M, 15.5(3)M1, 15.5(3)M0a, 15.5(3)M2, 15.5(3)M3, 15.5(3)M4, 15.5(3)M4a, 15.5(3)M5, 15.3(3)JAA1, 15.0(2)SQD, 15.0(2)SQD1, 15.0(2)SQD2, 15.0(2)SQD3, 15.0(2)SQD4, 15.0(2)SQD5, 15.0(2)SQD6, 15.6(1)T, 15.6(2)T, 15.6(1)T0a, 15.6(1)T1, 15.6(2)T1, 15.6(1)T2, 15.6(2)T2, 15.6(1)T3, 15.3(1)SY, 15.3(1)SY1, 15.3(1)SY2, 15.6(3)M, 15.6(3)M1, 15.6(3)M0a, 15.6(3)M1b, 15.6(3)M2, 15.6(3)M2a, 15.2(4)EC1, 15.2(4)EC2, 15.3(3)JPC5, 15.4(1)SY, 15.4(1)SY1, 15.4(1)SY2, 15.5(1)SY, 15.3(3)JPR1Listed
CiscoCisco IOS XE Software3.2.0SG, 3.2.1SG, 3.2.2SG, 3.2.3SG, 3.2.4SG, 3.2.5SG, 3.2.6SG, 3.2.7SG, 3.2.8SG, 3.2.9SG, 3.2.10SG, 3.2.11SG, 3.3.0SG, 3.3.2SG, 3.3.1SG, 3.2.0SE, 3.2.1SE, 3.2.2SE, 3.2.3SE, 3.3.0SE, 3.3.1SE, 3.3.2SE, 3.3.3SE, 3.3.4SE, 3.3.5SE, 3.4.0SG, 3.4.2SG, 3.4.1SG, 3.4.3SG, 3.4.4SG, 3.4.5SG, 3.4.6SG, 3.4.7SG, 3.4.8SG, 3.5.0E, 3.5.1E, 3.5.2E, 3.5.3E, 3.6.0E, 3.6.1E, 3.6.2aE, 3.6.2E, 3.6.3E, 3.6.4E, 3.6.5E, 3.6.6E, 3.6.5aE, 3.6.5bE, 3.3.0SQ, 3.3.1SQ, 3.4.0SQ, 3.4.1SQ, 3.7.0E, 3.7.1E, 3.7.2E, 3.7.3E, 3.7.4E, 3.7.5E, 3.5.0SQ, 3.5.1SQ, 3.5.2SQ, 3.5.3SQ, 3.5.4SQ, 3.5.5SQ, 3.5.6SQ, 16.1.1, 16.1.2, 16.1.3, 16.2.1, 16.2.2, 3.8.0E, 3.8.1E, 3.8.2E, 3.8.3E, 3.8.4E, 16.3.1, 16.3.2, 16.3.3, 16.3.1a, 16.3.4, 16.4.1, 16.4.2, 16.5.1, 16.5.1a, 16.5.1b, 3.18.1aSP, 3.18.2aSP, 3.9.0E, 3.9.1E, 3.9.2E, 17.11.99SWListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-119

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-119 · source CWE mapping

Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer

Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs