Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-0172 can crash affected Cisco IOS and IOS XE devices when they process crafted DHCPv4 option 82 information. The business impact is network disruption: a successful attack can force a device reload and cause denial of service.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation because the vulnerability affects network infrastructure availability and is in CISA KEV. It is not described as a confidentiality breach, but forced reloads on critical Cisco devices can disrupt business operations and connected environments.
Technical view
Cisco describes incomplete input validation in DHCP option 82 encapsulation. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send a crafted DHCPv4 packet via DHCP relay-agent context, triggering a heap overflow that reloads the device. The issue is CWE-20, CVSS 8.6, Cisco Bug ID CSCvg62730.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Cisco IOS or IOS XE devices process DHCPv4 packets containing option 82 information from DHCP relay agents. The bundle does not identify exact affected releases or configurations, so version and feature validation must come from Cisco guidance.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV lists CVE-2018-0172, so treat exploitation as confirmed in the wild. The provided sources support denial of service through crafted DHCPv4 traffic, not data theft or privilege escalation.
Researcher notes
Focus analysis on DHCPv4 option 82 handling, relay-agent trust boundaries, and crash evidence. Do not assume code execution from the provided bundle; the documented impact is heap overflow leading to reload and denial of service.
Mitigation direction
- Check Cisco advisory for affected releases and fixed software guidance.
- Upgrade affected Cisco IOS or IOS XE devices according to Cisco guidance.
- Review network controls limiting DHCPv4 relay traffic to expected relay agents.
- Prioritize devices supporting critical routing, switching, or industrial operations.
- Track CISA KEV remediation expectations for this CVE.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Cisco IOS and IOS XE devices in scope.
- Identify devices processing DHCPv4 option 82 or relay-agent traffic.
- Compare software versions and configurations against Cisco advisory details.
- Review device reload logs for unexplained crashes during DHCP activity.
- Confirm remediation status for KEV tracking and audit evidence.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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-20: 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 lookupCVE-2018-0172 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
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.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H3.94Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.6HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.tenable.com/security/research/tra-2018-06CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180328-dhcpr1CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-05CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-0172CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Input Validation
Improper Input Validation represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.