CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2018-0163 — Cisco Ios security vulnerability

Medium CVSS 6.5

A vulnerability in the 802.1x multiple-authentication (multi-auth) feature of Cisco IOS Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to bypass the authentication phase on an 802.1x multi-auth port. The vulnerability is due to a logic change error introduced into the code. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by trying to access an 802.1x multi-auth port after a successful supplicant has authenticated. An exploit could allow the attacker to bypass the 802.1x access controls and obtain access to the network. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvg69701.

Severity
Medium
CVSS
6.5 (3.1)
Published
2018-03-28
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-287

Affected products

  • cisco / ios / 15.4(3)m6
  • cisco / ios / 15.4(3)m6a
  • cisco / ios / 15.4(3)m7
  • cisco / ios / 15.4(3)m7a
  • cisco / ios / 15.4(3)m8
  • cisco / ios / 15.4(3.0i)m6

Showing 6 representative product identities from 33 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Authentication bypass and missing authentication

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Check exposure

  • Map every affected endpoint and protocol path, including alternate ports, legacy routes, recovery flows, service accounts, and machine-to-machine access.
  • Confirm which deployments enable the affected authentication mode and whether the interface is reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Review session, token, credential, and proxy trust configuration without attempting account takeover.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the supported fix and centralize fail-closed authentication before protected request handling.
  • Remove default or embedded credentials, rotate affected secrets and sessions, and bind authentication decisions to the intended audience and channel.
  • Add negative tests for alternate routes, malformed or absent credentials, recovery flows, and proxy-derived identity.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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