CVE-2017-6781 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

Cisco Policy Suite (CPS) Software vulnerability allows local attackers to gain elevated privileges on affected systems.

Understanding CVE-2017-6781

A vulnerability in the management of shell user accounts for Cisco Policy Suite (CPS) Software on CPS appliances could be exploited by authenticated, local attackers to obtain elevated privileges on a system.

What is CVE-2017-6781?

The vulnerability arises from incorrect role-based access control (RBAC) for shell user accounts, enabling attackers to gain higher privilege levels than intended by providing crafted user input through the CLI.

The Impact of CVE-2017-6781

Attackers with valid credentials can exploit the vulnerability to elevate their privileges on affected systems.
The affected privilege level is not at the root level, but it allows unauthorized access to higher privileges.

Technical Details of CVE-2017-6781

A detailed look at the technical aspects of the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

Vulnerability in the management of shell user accounts for Cisco Policy Suite (CPS) Software on CPS appliances.
Incorrect role-based access control (RBAC) for shell user accounts.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: Policy Suite
Vendor: Cisco Systems, Inc.
Affected Versions: 9.0.0, 9.1.0, 10.0.0, 11.0.0, 12.0.0

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers need to authenticate on an affected appliance and provide carefully crafted user input through the CLI to exploit the vulnerability.

Mitigation and Prevention

Steps to mitigate and prevent exploitation of CVE-2017-6781.

Immediate Steps to Take

Apply patches provided by Cisco to address the vulnerability.
Monitor and restrict access to affected systems.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update and patch software to prevent vulnerabilities.
Implement strong authentication mechanisms and access controls.

Patching and Updates

Cisco has released patches to address the vulnerability in affected versions of Policy Suite.