📄 Description (English)
Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software Smart Install Denial-of-Service Vulnerability — A vulnerability in the Smart Install feature of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to trigger a reload of an affected device, resulting in a denial-of-service (DoS) condition.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2018-0156 is a critical denial-of-service vulnerability in Cisco IOS and IOS XE Smart Install feature that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to trigger a device reload. With a CVSS score of 9.0 and publicly available exploits, this vulnerability poses an immediate threat to any organization running affected Cisco network infrastructure. The Smart Install protocol (TCP port 4786) has been widely targeted in the wild, including by nation-state actors, making unpatched devices extremely vulnerable to network disruption.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 9, 2026 11:01
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability has significant impact across all major Saudi sectors that rely heavily on Cisco networking infrastructure. Banking/SAMA-regulated institutions face risk of core network disruption affecting financial transactions. Government entities under NCA oversight, including critical ministries, are at risk of network outages. Energy sector organizations including ARAMCO and utility companies using Cisco switches and routers in OT/IT convergence environments face potential operational disruption. Telecom providers like STC, Mobily, and Zain using Cisco infrastructure could experience service outages affecting millions of subscribers. Saudi Arabia's extensive Cisco deployment across enterprise and government networks makes this vulnerability particularly impactful.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking
Government
Energy
Telecommunications
Healthcare
Education
Defense
Transportation
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
Immediate Actions:
1. Identify all Cisco IOS and IOS XE devices with Smart Install feature enabled by running: 'show vstack config' or scanning for TCP port 4786
2. Disable Smart Install if not actively used: 'no vstack' in global configuration
3. Apply Cisco security patches immediately from cisco.com/go/psirt
Network Controls:
4. Block TCP port 4786 at network perimeter firewalls and internal ACLs for devices that don't require Smart Install
5. Implement infrastructure ACLs (iACLs) to restrict Smart Install traffic to authorized management stations only
6. Enable Control Plane Policing (CoPP) to rate-limit Smart Install traffic
Detection Rules:
7. Monitor for unexpected traffic to TCP port 4786 using IDS/IPS signatures
8. Configure syslog alerts for unexpected device reloads
9. Deploy Snort/Suricata rules for Smart Install exploitation attempts (SID: 41722, 41723)
10. Monitor for Cisco Smart Install Client scanning activity in network traffic
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع أجهزة Cisco IOS و IOS XE التي تم تفعيل ميزة Smart Install عليها بتشغيل الأمر: 'show vstack config' أو فحص المنفذ TCP 4786
2. تعطيل Smart Install إذا لم تكن مستخدمة: 'no vstack' في الإعدادات العامة
3. تطبيق تحديثات Cisco الأمنية فوراً من cisco.com/go/psirt
ضوابط الشبكة:
4. حظر المنفذ TCP 4786 على جدران الحماية المحيطية وقوائم التحكم الداخلية للأجهزة التي لا تحتاج Smart Install
5. تطبيق قوائم التحكم في البنية التحتية لتقييد حركة Smart Install للمحطات الإدارية المصرح بها فقط
6. تفعيل سياسات حماية مستوى التحكم لتحديد معدل حركة Smart Install
قواعد الكشف:
7. مراقبة الحركة غير المتوقعة على المنفذ TCP 4786 باستخدام أنظمة كشف التسلل
8. إعداد تنبيهات syslog لإعادة التشغيل غير المتوقعة للأجهزة
9. نشر قواعد Snort/Suricata لمحاولات استغلال Smart Install
10. مراقبة نشاط فحص Smart Install Client في حركة الشبكة
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC-2:3-1 (Network Security)
ECC-2:3-3 (Patch Management)
ECC-2:5-1 (Vulnerability Management)
ECC-2:2-4 (Infrastructure Security)
🔵 SAMA CSF
3.3.3 (Network Security Management)
3.3.4 (Patch Management)
3.3.7 (Vulnerability Management)
3.4.1 (Incident Management)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.8.8 (Management of technical vulnerabilities)
A.8.20 (Networks security)
A.8.21 (Security of network services)
A.8.9 (Configuration management)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
PCI DSS 6.3.3 (Patching security vulnerabilities)
PCI DSS 1.3 (Network access controls)
PCI DSS 11.3 (Vulnerability scanning)
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Cisco:IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software