CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2017-12230 — Cisco Ios Xe security vulnerability

High CVSS 9

A vulnerability in the web-based user interface (web UI) of Cisco IOS XE 16.2 could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate their privileges on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to incorrect default permission settings for new users who are created by using the web UI of the affected software. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using the web UI of the affected software to create a new user and then logging into the web UI as the newly created user. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to elevate their privileges on the affected device. This vulnerability affects Cisco devices that are running a vulnerable release Cisco IOS XE Software, if the HTTP Server feature is enabled for the device. The newly redesigned, web-based administration UI was introduced in the Denali 16.2 Release of Cisco IOS XE Software. This vulnerability does not affect the web-based administration UI in earlier releases of Cisco IOS XE Software. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCuy83062.

Severity
High
CVSS
9 (2.0)
Published
2017-09-29
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-264, CWE-276

Affected products

  • cisco / ios_xe / 16.2.1

Matched remediation archetype

Privilege escalation and unsafe privilege management

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Map service accounts, operating-system identities, roles, capabilities, impersonation, set-user transitions, and administrative helper paths.
  • Determine whether untrusted users or lower-privilege processes can reach the affected transition or modify inputs it trusts.
  • Review file, socket, registry, device, job, container, and cloud-role permissions used before and after privilege changes.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the supported fix and redesign privileged operations as a minimal, authenticated, allowlisted interface.
  • Drop privileges before processing untrusted input, verify the drop succeeds, and remove unnecessary roles, capabilities, and write permissions.
  • Validate ownership and permissions at time of use and add explicit lower-to-higher privilege boundary tests.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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