📄 Description (English)
Cisco IOS Software Denial-of-Service Vulnerability — A vulnerability in the Login Enhancements (Login Block) feature of Cisco IOS Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to trigger a reload of an affected system, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2018-0180 is a critical vulnerability in Cisco IOS Software's Login Enhancements (Login Block) feature that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause a device reload, resulting in a denial of service condition. With a CVSS score of 9.0 and known exploits available, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to network infrastructure. The vulnerability affects Cisco IOS devices that have the Login Block feature enabled, which is commonly used to protect against brute-force login attempts. Organizations should prioritize patching immediately given the availability of both exploits and patches.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 9, 2026 19:23
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability has significant impact across multiple Saudi sectors due to the widespread deployment of Cisco IOS devices. The telecommunications sector (STC, Mobily, Zain) relies heavily on Cisco routing infrastructure and is at highest risk. Government networks regulated by NCA, banking institutions under SAMA oversight, and energy sector organizations including Saudi Aramco all utilize Cisco IOS devices extensively in their network backbone. A successful DoS attack could disrupt critical communications, financial transactions, and operational technology networks. Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 digital transformation initiatives increase dependency on network infrastructure, amplifying the potential impact of this vulnerability.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Telecommunications
Government
Banking
Energy
Healthcare
Education
Defense
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.5
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
Immediate Actions:
1. Identify all Cisco IOS devices with Login Enhancements (Login Block) feature enabled using 'show running-config | include login block-for'
2. Apply Cisco's official security patch immediately from Cisco's Security Advisory portal
3. If immediate patching is not possible, consider temporarily disabling the Login Block feature as a compensating control (note: this reduces brute-force protection)
Patching Guidance:
- Download and apply the fixed Cisco IOS software version as specified in Cisco's security advisory
- Schedule emergency maintenance windows for critical infrastructure devices
- Test patches in a lab environment before deploying to production where possible
Compensating Controls:
- Implement access control lists (ACLs) to restrict management access to trusted IP addresses only
- Deploy out-of-band management networks to limit exposure
- Enable AAA with TACACS+/RADIUS to add authentication layers
- Monitor devices for unexpected reloads using SNMP traps and syslog
Detection Rules:
- Monitor for repeated failed login attempts followed by device reloads
- Set up SNMP monitoring for unexpected device reboots (OID: 1.3.6.1.2.1.1.3)
- Implement IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts targeting Cisco IOS login services
- Review syslog for '%SYS-2-MALLOCFAIL' or crash-related messages
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع أجهزة Cisco IOS التي تم تمكين ميزة حظر تسجيل الدخول فيها باستخدام الأمر 'show running-config | include login block-for'
2. تطبيق التصحيح الأمني الرسمي من Cisco فوراً من بوابة الاستشارات الأمنية
3. إذا لم يكن التصحيح الفوري ممكناً، يمكن تعطيل ميزة حظر تسجيل الدخول مؤقتاً كإجراء تعويضي (ملاحظة: هذا يقلل من الحماية ضد هجمات القوة الغاشمة)
إرشادات التصحيح:
- تنزيل وتطبيق إصدار برنامج Cisco IOS المصحح كما هو محدد في الاستشارة الأمنية
- جدولة نوافذ صيانة طارئة لأجهزة البنية التحتية الحرجة
- اختبار التصحيحات في بيئة مختبرية قبل النشر في بيئة الإنتاج
الضوابط التعويضية:
- تنفيذ قوائم التحكم في الوصول لتقييد الوصول الإداري للعناوين الموثوقة فقط
- نشر شبكات إدارة خارج النطاق لتقليل التعرض
- تمكين AAA مع TACACS+/RADIUS لإضافة طبقات مصادقة
- مراقبة الأجهزة لإعادة التشغيل غير المتوقعة
قواعد الكشف:
- مراقبة محاولات تسجيل الدخول الفاشلة المتكررة متبوعة بإعادة تشغيل الجهاز
- إعداد مراقبة SNMP لإعادة التشغيل غير المتوقعة
- تنفيذ توقيعات IDS/IPS لمحاولات الاستغلال
- مراجعة سجلات النظام للرسائل المتعلقة بالأعطال
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2-3-1 (Network Security)
ECC 2-5-1 (Vulnerability Management)
ECC 2-3-4 (Infrastructure Security)
ECC 2-6-1 (Incident Management)
ECC 2-2-1 (Asset Management)
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF 3.3.3 (Network Security Management)
SAMA CSF 3.3.7 (Vulnerability Management)
SAMA CSF 3.3.4 (System Security)
SAMA CSF 3.4.1 (Incident Detection and Response)
SAMA CSF 3.3.1 (Infrastructure Security)
🟡 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)
A.5.24 (Information security incident management planning)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
Requirement 6.3.3 (Install applicable security patches within one month)
Requirement 1.2 (Network security controls)
Requirement 11.3 (Vulnerability scanning)
Requirement 2.2 (System configuration standards)
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Cisco:IOS Software