CVE-2017-12237
Published 2017-09-29 · Updated 2026-06-17 · Source psirt@cisco.com
Summary
CVE-2017-12237 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) vulnerability in Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on March 3, 2022, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed; US federal agencies had to remediate it by March 24, 2022. CISA does not currently list it as used in ransomware campaigns. Cisco has 102 vulnerabilities in the KEV catalog, 7 of them linked to ransomware.
All 102 known-exploited Cisco vulnerabilities →Description
A vulnerability in the Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) module of Cisco IOS 15.0 through 15.6 and Cisco IOS XE 3.5 through 16.5 could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause high CPU utilization, traceback messages, or a reload of an affected device that leads to a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to how an affected device processes certain IKEv2 packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specific IKEv2 packets to an affected device to be processed. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause high CPU utilization, traceback messages, or a reload of the affected device that leads to a DoS condition. This vulnerability affects Cisco devices that have the Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol (ISAKMP) enabled. Although only IKEv2 packets can be used to trigger this vulnerability, devices that are running Cisco IOS Software or Cisco IOS XE Software are vulnerable when ISAKMP is enabled. A device does not need to be configured with any IKEv2-specific features to be vulnerable. Many features use IKEv2, including different types of VPNs such as the following: LAN-to-LAN VPN; Remote-access VPN, excluding SSL VPN; Dynamic Multipoint VPN (DMVPN); and FlexVPN. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvc41277.
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CISA Known-Exploited Vulnerability
Product: Cisco — IOS and IOS XE Software
Name: Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Internet Key Exchange Denial-of-Service Vulnerability
Date added: 2022-03-03 · Due: 2022-03-24
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
References
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101037
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039460
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20170927-ike
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101037
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039460
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20170927-ike
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2017-12237

