📄 Description (English)
Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability — The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) subsystem of Cisco IOS and IOS XE contains a vulnerability that could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to remotely execute code.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2017-6738 is a critical remote code execution vulnerability in the SNMP subsystem of Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software, allowing an authenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on affected network devices. With a CVSS score of 9.0 and known exploits available, this vulnerability poses severe risk to network infrastructure. Successful exploitation could lead to complete device compromise, enabling attackers to intercept, modify, or redirect network traffic. Organizations running Cisco IOS/IOS XE devices with SNMP enabled should treat this as an urgent priority.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 8, 2026 17:48
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability has significant impact across virtually all Saudi sectors due to the widespread deployment of Cisco networking equipment. Banking sector (SAMA-regulated institutions) relies heavily on Cisco infrastructure for core banking networks. Government entities under NCA oversight use Cisco routers and switches extensively. Energy sector organizations including Saudi Aramco and utility companies depend on Cisco devices for operational and IT networks. Telecom providers (STC, Mobily, Zain) use Cisco equipment in their backbone infrastructure. Healthcare and education sectors are also at risk. SNMP is commonly enabled for network monitoring in Saudi enterprises, making the attack surface substantial. Exploitation could enable lateral movement across critical national infrastructure.
🏢 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 in your environment with SNMP enabled using network scanning tools
2. Apply Cisco security patches immediately — refer to Cisco Security Advisory cisco-sa-20170629-snmp for specific fixed software versions
3. If patching is not immediately possible, implement these compensating controls:
- Restrict SNMP access using ACLs to only authorized management stations
- Use SNMPv3 with strong authentication and encryption instead of SNMPv1/v2c
- Change all default and weak SNMP community strings immediately
- Disable SNMP on devices where it is not required
4. Monitor for exploitation attempts using IDS/IPS signatures for SNMP-based attacks
5. Implement Control Plane Policing (CoPP) to rate-limit SNMP traffic to the device
6. Segment management networks from production traffic
Detection Rules:
- Monitor for unusual SNMP traffic patterns, especially from non-management IP addresses
- Alert on SNMP requests with malformed or oversized PDUs
- Monitor device logs for unexpected configuration changes or process crashes
- Deploy Snort/Suricata rules for CVE-2017-6738 exploitation attempts
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع أجهزة Cisco IOS و IOS XE في بيئتك التي تم تمكين SNMP عليها باستخدام أدوات مسح الشبكة
2. تطبيق تصحيحات Cisco الأمنية فوراً — راجع تحذير Cisco الأمني cisco-sa-20170629-snmp للحصول على إصدارات البرامج المصححة المحددة
3. إذا لم يكن التصحيح ممكناً فوراً، نفذ الضوابط التعويضية التالية:
- تقييد الوصول إلى SNMP باستخدام قوائم التحكم في الوصول (ACL) للسماح فقط لمحطات الإدارة المصرح بها
- استخدام SNMPv3 مع مصادقة وتشفير قويين بدلاً من SNMPv1/v2c
- تغيير جميع سلاسل مجتمع SNMP الافتراضية والضعيفة فوراً
- تعطيل SNMP على الأجهزة التي لا تحتاجه
4. مراقبة محاولات الاستغلال باستخدام توقيعات IDS/IPS للهجمات المستندة إلى SNMP
5. تنفيذ سياسة حماية مستوى التحكم (CoPP) للحد من حركة مرور SNMP إلى الجهاز
6. فصل شبكات الإدارة عن حركة مرور الإنتاج
قواعد الكشف:
- مراقبة أنماط حركة مرور SNMP غير العادية، خاصة من عناوين IP غير إدارية
- التنبيه على طلبات SNMP ذات وحدات PDU مشوهة أو كبيرة الحجم
- مراقبة سجلات الأجهزة للتغييرات غير المتوقعة في التكوين أو تعطل العمليات
- نشر قواعد Snort/Suricata لمحاولات استغلال CVE-2017-6738
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
2-3-1 (Network Security)
2-3-4 (Vulnerability Management)
2-5-1 (Security Monitoring)
2-2-1 (Asset Management)
2-3-3 (Secure Configuration)
🔵 SAMA CSF
3.3.3 (Network Security Management)
3.3.4 (Vulnerability Management)
3.3.7 (Security Monitoring and Event Management)
3.3.1 (Information Asset Management)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.8.9 (Configuration Management)
A.8.8 (Management of Technical Vulnerabilities)
A.8.20 (Networks Security)
A.8.21 (Security of Network Services)
A.8.16 (Monitoring Activities)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
6.3.3 (Patching Security Vulnerabilities)
2.2.1 (System Configuration Standards)
11.3 (Vulnerability Scanning)
1.3 (Network Access Controls)
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Cisco:IOS and IOS XE Software