CVE-2018-0171

Confirmed PUBLISHED

A vulnerability in the Smart Install feature of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to...

Cisco · Cisco IOS and IOS XE

Exploited in the wild PoC available

Recommended Action

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

View KEV Feed Talk to Sales

Confidence

Confirmed

Exploitation Status

Exploited in the wild

Observed in Sensors

Attempts (30d)

—

Unique Attacker IPs

—

CISA KEV

In CISA KEV

CVSS / EPSS

9.8 Critical

At a Glance

A vulnerability in the Smart Install feature of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to trigger a reload of an affected device, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition, or to execute arbitrary code on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of packet data. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted Smart Install message to an affected device on TCP port 4786. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a buffer overflow on the affected device, which could have the following impacts: Triggering a reload of the device, Allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the device, Causing an indefinite loop on the affected device that triggers a watchdog crash. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvg76186.

ios cisa windows edge nuclei_scanner

CVE Published: Mar 28, 2018
Exploitation Reported: Nov 03, 2021
CVSS: 9.8 Critical
EPSS: —

Remote Low complexity No user interaction Unauthenticated

Affected Versions

Vendor	Product	Version	Status
n/a	Cisco IOS and IOS XE	Cisco IOS and IOS XE	Affected

CVE References

1040580 securitytracker.com · VDB Entry http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040580
103538 securityfocus.com · VDB Entry http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103538
ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04 ics-cert.us-cert.gov · CVE Record https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04
tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisor... tools.cisco.com · CVE Record https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory...
darkreading.com/perimeter/attackers-exploit-cisco-switch-iss... darkreading.com · CVE Record https://www.darkreading.com/perimeter/attackers-exploit-cisco-switch-...

Show 1 more reference

ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-05 ics-cert.us-cert.gov · CVE Record https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-05

Recommended Actions

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Check enrichment artifacts for scanner coverage and available PoCs before rolling remediation validation.
Use the Pro API to automate enrichment, telemetry, and workflow delivery for VM, SOC, and CTI pipelines.

Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources

Catalogues that list this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability.

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEVIntel Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access

Source	Added
CISA First	2021-11-03 00:00 UTC

Scanner Artifacts

Nuclei and Metasploit references linked to this CVE.

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Nuclei	https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/javascript/cves/2018/CVE-2018-0171.yaml	Jun 01, 2026

CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 9.8 Critical

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 10.0 High

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Exploitation Status

Exploited in the wild

Recorded 2021-11-03 00:00:00 UTC · CISA

Proof of concept available

Recorded 2026-06-12 14:21:14 UTC · Nuclei Templates

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-20

Improper Input Validation

Scanner Integrations

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Nuclei	https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/javascript/cves/2018/CVE-2018-0171.yaml	Jun 01, 2026

Recent Mentions

Improve Router Hygiene to Protect Against Russian State-Sponsored Targeting

All CISA Advisories · Jul 13, 2026

Russian Government-Sponsored Activity Targets Poorly Configured and Vulnerable Devices Across Critical Sectors Executive summary Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Center 16 cyber actors continue to exploit poorly configured and vulnerable networking devices worldwide, opportunistically compromising multiple critical infrastructure sector networks. This joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) builds on FBI’s Russian Government Cyber Actors Targeting Networking Devices, Critical Infrastructure Public Service Announcement of the decade-plus FSB Center 16 cyber activity by providing additional tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to enable defenders to more fully understand and counter the threat. [1] This CSA is being released by the following authoring and co-sealing agencies: United States National Security Agency (NSA) United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) United States Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC) Communications Security Establishment Canada’s (CSE’s) Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ) United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK) Czech Republic National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NÚKIB)1 Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS)2 Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service (EFIS)3 Estonian Information System Authority (RIA)4 Finnish Defence Intelligence (FDI)5 Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO)6 French National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI)7 Italian External Intelligence and Security Agency (AISE)8 Italian Internal Intelligence and Security Agency (AISI)9 The Military Counterintelligence Service of Poland (SKW)10 Sweden National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-SE)11 The authoring and co-sealing agencies strongly urge device owners and network defenders to take mitigation and...

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

Cisco Smart Install - Configuration Download

nuclei · Created Unknown

Automate This Intelligence with the Pro API

Confidence scoring, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

View Pro Pricing View API Docs

Pro API Example

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2018-0171

{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2018-0171",
  "title": "A vulnerability in the Smart Install feature of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco ...",
  "affected_vendor": "Cisco",
  "affected_product": "Cisco IOS and IOS XE",
  "affected_versions": [
    { "vendor": "...", "product": "...", "status": "affected", "display_label": "..." }
  ],
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 9.8,
  "epss_score": null,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "...": "Pro API fields" },
  "proof_of_concepts": [ "..." ],
  "scanner_integrations": [ "..." ]
}

The free JSON API returns basic KEV fields only. Confidence, telemetry, and artifact enrichment require Pro API access.

CVE-2018-0171

At a Glance

Affected Versions

CVE References

Recommended Actions

Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources

Scanner Artifacts

Virtual Patch

CVSS Scores

Exploitation Status

Weaknesses (CWE)

Scanner Integrations

Recent Mentions

Potential Proof of Concepts

Timeline

Automate This Intelligence with the Pro API