CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2018-0304 — Cisco Nexus 7000 Firmware security vulnerability

Critical CVSS 9.8

A vulnerability in the Cisco Fabric Services component of Cisco FXOS Software and Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to read sensitive memory content, create a denial of service (DoS) condition, or execute arbitrary code as root. The vulnerability exists because the affected software insufficiently validates Cisco Fabric Services packet headers. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted Cisco Fabric Services packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a buffer overflow or buffer overread condition in the Cisco Fabric Services component, which could allow the attacker to read sensitive memory content, create a DoS condition, or execute arbitrary code as root. This vulnerability affects the following if configured to use Cisco Fabric Services: Firepower 4100 Series Next-Generation Firewalls, Firepower 9300 Security Appliance, MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches, Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders, Nexus 3000 Series Switches, Nexus 3500 Platform Switches, Nexus 5500 Platform Switches, Nexus 5600 Platform Switches, Nexus 6000 Series Switches, Nexus 7000 Series Switches, Nexus 7700 Series…

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.0)
Published
2018-06-20
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-20, CWE-125

Affected products

  • cisco / nexus_7000_firmware / 7.3(2)d1(0.49)
  • cisco / nexus_7000_firmware / 8.0(1)
  • cisco / nexus_7000_firmware / 8.1(0.112)s0
  • cisco / nexus_5000_firmware / 7.0(0)hsk(0.357)
  • cisco / nexus_5000_firmware / 7.3(0)d1(0.98)
  • cisco / nexus_5000_firmware / 8.1(0.2)s0

Showing 6 representative product identities from 12 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

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

Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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