Actively exploited vulnerability

Cisco IOS: denial of service flaw under attack

CVE-2004-1464 · Cisco IOS Denial-of-Service Vulnerability

Concerns everyone who uses it5.9 medium

What is affected

Cisco IOS is found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use it and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.

Cisco IOS contains an unspecified vulnerability that may block further telnet, reverse telnet, Remote Shell (RSH), Secure Shell (SSH), and in some cases, Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) access to the Cisco device.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a denial of service flaw. It lets an attacker crash the product or make it unavailable to the people who rely on it.

How it is reached
Over the internet or network
Access the attacker needs
No account needed
Does the victim have to do something?
No, works without the victim doing anything

What to do

  1. Update Cisco IOS now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
  2. Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
  3. If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

Vendor advisories and fixes

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on May 19, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by June 9, 2023, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 4.8% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 92% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 5.9 out of 10 (medium), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

Cisco IOS 12.2(15) and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (refused VTY (virtual terminal) connections), via a crafted TCP connection to the Telnet or reverse Telnet port.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
5,442 members already hereReading, writing, commenting and voting. 0 verified · 167 joined this year