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CVE-2018-0171 is a critical vulnerability in the Smart Install feature of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software. The flaw is caused by improper validation of packet data in Smart Install message handling, allowing a crafted Smart Install message to trigger a buffer overflow on an affected device. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue by sending specially crafted traffic to the Smart Install service. Successful exploitation can cause the device to reload, enter an indefinite loop that results in a watchdog crash, or execute arbitrary code on the device.
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What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
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Patch, then assume compromise.
1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos (1 hidden).
This repository provides a Python 3 exploit script (cisco-se.py) targeting Cisco devices vulnerable to CVE-2018-0171 (SmartInstall Remote Code Execution/Config Extraction). The script connects to the target device on TCP port 4786, sends crafted payloads to exploit the SmartInstall protocol, and then uses TFTP (port 69) to download the device's 'startup-config' file. After downloading, it parses the configuration to extract and decrypt secret 7 password hashes (using the external 'c7decrypt' tool), plaintext passwords, and SNMP community strings. The script supports targeting a single IP, a list of IPs, or analyzing a standalone configuration file. The repository includes a README with usage instructions and a requirements.txt specifying the tftpy library. The exploit is operational, providing real extraction and parsing of sensitive configuration data from vulnerable Cisco devices.
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Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
93 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A specific Cisco device vulnerability that the advisory says Russian state-sponsored actors have exploited; it is significant here because it is listed in CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and tied to ongoing targeting of networking devices.
A known Cisco Smart Install vulnerability that the advisory says FSB Center 16 actors occasionally weaponize while targeting vulnerable routers.
A known Cisco vulnerability cited as one of the flaws Russian FSB Center 16-linked actors have exploited to compromise network devices.
Удалённая неаутентифицированная уязвимость в Cisco Smart Install на Cisco IOS и IOS XE, позволяющая вызвать DoS и, по данным материала, также добиться выполнения произвольного кода; значима из-за многолетней активной эксплуатации против сетевого оборудования критической инфраструктуры.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.