CVE-2017-3881 — Cisco IOS and IOS XE Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the Cisco Cluster Management Protocol (CMP) processing code in Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a reload of an affected device or remotely execute code with elevated privileges. The Cluster Management

01What is this vulnerability?

A vulnerability in the Cisco Cluster Management Protocol (CMP) processing code in Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a reload of an affected device or remotely execute code with elevated privileges. The Cluster Management Protocol utilizes Telnet internally as a signaling and command protocol between cluster members. The vulnerability is…

02Affected products

Vendor	Product	Versions
n	a / Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software	Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software

03Active exploitation status

Yes — actively exploited. Added to the CISA KEV catalog on 2022-03-25. Ransomware use: Unknown.

04Recommended remediation

• Patch to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory (see references below).
• Mitigate with WAF rules, network egress filters, or feature flags where the patch is not yet available.
• Hunt historical logs for exploitation indicators — see Detection signatures below.

05Technical details

For the full vendor write-up, exploit chains, and reference implementations, see the references list in section 09.

06Detection signatures

Open the Sigma generator with a pre-filled prompt for this CVE to draft a starting detection in your stack of choice:

Open in Sigma generator →

07Related CVEs

No directly-cited follow-up CVEs in the KB record for this advisory. The references list in section 09 carries the vendor cross-references.

08Timeline

• Published: 2017-03-17T22:00:00.000Z
• Last modified: 2026-01-12T20:45:44.634Z
• Added to CISA KEV: 2022-03-25
• BOD 22-01 due: 2022-04-15

09References

• www.exploit-db.com — https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41872/
• www.exploit-db.com — https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41874/
• www.securityfocus.com — http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/97391
• www.securityfocus.com — http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/96960
• tools.cisco.com — https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-2…
• www.securitytracker.com — http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1038059