Exploited CVEs / Cisco / CVE-2018-0171
CVE-2018-0171
Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Smart Install Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Exploitation in the wild is confirmed by CISA, not predicted. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-05-03 (that deadline has passed); treat that date as the outer bound for your own environment. The fix is in the vendor advisory: Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT), linked below.
Actively exploited Cisco IOS and IOS XE vulnerability, Critical severity, CVSS 9.8. Added to the CISA KEV catalog 2021-11-03.
Risk summary
Updated July 27, 2026. Data refreshed on every build from MSRC, CISA KEV, and FIRST EPSS.
Senserva AI Opinion for CVE-2018-0171
Cisco Smart Install improperly validates packet data, letting an unauthenticated remote attacker reload, deny service, or execute code on IOS and IOS XE switches, and with EPSS at 100 percent it has been mass-exploited, including in destructive attacks that overwrote device configurations. Smart Install listens by default on many switches, which turned a deployment feature into a global attack surface. Critical Severity at CVSS 9.8.
Do this: Disable Smart Install on every switch today with no vstack, verify TCP 4786 is unreachable from outside, and patch.
AI-generated from public data, 2026-07-07. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting.
Senserva AI Opinion and rich prompt for CVE-2018-0171
Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. The facts are included, sourced from this page.
Full tracking and change history for CVE-2018-0171
Published and last-revised dates are authoritative, from Microsoft MSRC (or the CISA KEV date-added). Senserva additionally records day-to-day changes from 2026-07-07, refreshed several times a day; the change count reflects that forward-only tracking.
CISA required action
Federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date: 2022-05-03 (past due).
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Official fix for CVE-2018-0171
The authoritative fix and affected-version list are published by the vendor. Find the IOS and IOS XE advisory on Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT).
Common questions about CVE-2018-0171
Is CVE-2018-0171 actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2018-0171 was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed, not predicted. Its EPSS 30-day exploitation probability is 100%.
What is the CISA deadline and required action for CVE-2018-0171?
CISA set the federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date at 2022-05-03, which has passed; treat any unremediated system as overdue. The verbatim required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
What fixes CVE-2018-0171?
The authoritative fix is in the vendor advisory: see Cisco Security Advisories (PSIRT) for the patched IOS and IOS XE versions and any workarounds. KEV listing makes this a fix-first item: patch it ahead of higher-CVSS issues nobody is exploiting.
Can I ask my own AI about CVE-2018-0171?
Yes. This page includes a free, ready-to-paste AI prompt containing CVE-2018-0171's key facts: severity, CVSS, EPSS, the KEV date, the CISA due date, and the required action. Copy it into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot; the data is refreshed twice a day (5 AM and 3 PM US Central).
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