Cisco IOS XE Software Privileged EXEC Mode Root Shell Access Vulnerability

published 2018-10-05 8y ago modified 2026-06-17 4mo ago also EUVD-2018-7246

cvss: 6.7; version 3.1, NVD
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.4%; EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 33%
public exploits: 0; none known

A vulnerability in the CLI parser of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to gain access to the underlying Linux shell of an affected device and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the device. The vulnerability is due to the affected software improperly sanitizing command arguments to prevent modifications to the underlying Linux filesystem on a device. An attacker who has privileged EXEC mode (privilege level 15) access to an affected device could exploit this vulnerability on the device by executing CLI commands that contain crafted arguments. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain access to the underlying Linux shell of the affected device and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the device.

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CISA SSVC

Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical impact: total
Assessed: last yr. (2024-11-25)

Exploit prediction

0.39% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 33% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
NVD	3.1	6.7	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	2.0	7.2	AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Affected products

Cisco Cisco IOS XE Software

Classification

Weakness

CWE-20 Improper Input Validation
CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command

Technology feeds

Cisco IOS rss critical rss

References

tools.cisco.com /security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180926-privesc
vendor-advisory

Sources

CVE List CVE-2018-15368
NVD CVE-2018-15368

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