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CVE-2018-15368: Cisco IOS XE Software Privileged EXEC Mode Root Shell Access Vulnerability

• Severity: medium (CVSS 6.7 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2018-10-05 · updated 2026-06-17
• Weakness: CWE-20

Description

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.

Affected products

• Cisco IOS XE: 15.4(3)s

References

• https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180926-privesc
• https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180926-privesc

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