Threats / Cisco / CVE-2017-6736
CVE-2017-6736
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Cisco IOS and XE Software vulnerability
Cisco IOS and IOS XE SNMP subsystem contains a buffer overflow vulnerability allowing authenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
An authenticated remote attacker can exploit a buffer overflow in the SNMP subsystem to achieve remote code execution on affected Cisco IOS and IOS XE devices. This vulnerability has been actively exploited in the wild.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
3 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.70559 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Cisco, IOS and IOS XE Software. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-119 Memory Buffer Bounds Error — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I gain network access and authenticate to the SNMP service on a Cisco device.
Business
An attacker with valid credentials can reach the SNMP interface, expanding the threat surface beyond unauthenticated attacks.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I craft a malicious SNMP message that triggers a buffer overflow in the SNMP subsystem.
Business
Memory corruption vulnerabilities in network services can lead to complete system compromise without additional exploits.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the SNMP process on the target device.
Business
Remote code execution on network infrastructure devices enables attackers to establish persistent control, pivot to other systems, or disrupt critical operations.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05