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CVE-2017-6736

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) subsystem of Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software contains multiple vulnerabilities that could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to remotely execute code on an affected system or cause an affected system to reload. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by sending a crafted SNMP packet to an affected system via IPv4 or IPv6. Only traffic directed to an affected system can be used to exploit these vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities are due to a buffer overflow condition in the SNMP subsystem of the affected software. The vulnerabilities affect all versions of SNMP - Versions 1, 2c, and 3. To exploit these vulnerabilities via SNMP Version 2c or earlier, the attacker must know the SNMP read-only community string for the affected system. To exploit these vulnerabilities via SNMP Version 3, the attacker must have user credentials for the affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code and obtain full control of the affected system or cause the affected system to reload. Customers are advised to apply the workaround as contained in the Workarounds section below. Fixed software information is available via the Cisco IOS Software Checker. All devices that have enabled SNMP and have not explicitly excluded the affected MIBs or OIDs should be considered vulnerable. There are workarounds that address these vulnerabilities.

CVSS
8.8Highscored by the publisher (CNA)
Exploited in the wild
Yes, in CISA KEV since 3 Mar 2022CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 24 Mar 2022public exploit code
EPSS
70.4%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.7% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
Fix
Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
Published
17 Jul 2017analysed here 12 Nov 2026

Do first. Apply updates per vendor instructions. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)

Summary

Triage

Attack surface
Server-side
Exploitable
At runtime
Attack vector
network
Weakness
Can a WAF block it?
No. See why

The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.

Affected products

Products named in our analysis

  • cisco:ios
  • cisco:ios_xe

Fix and mitigation

WAF and other mitigations

Can a WAF block it? No. This is a memory-corruption bug. Generic WAF rules do not recognise the input that triggers it; only a rule written for this specific CVE can, and only if the triggering request has a recognisable shape.

Also consider: patch

Based on the weakness type only; no CVE-specific evidence yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.

Remediation steps (AI-written)

Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.

Exploitation evidence

CISA KEV catalog
Listed since 3 Mar 2022.
CISA due date
24 Mar 2022, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
CISA required action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Public exploit code
Yes: 1 on Exploit-DB · 3 GitHub proofs of concept
CISA SSVC
exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 8 Nov 2024 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.

Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.

Timeline

  1. 17 Jul 2017Published
  2. 5 Jan 2018First public exploit or proof of concept171 days (about 6 months) later
  3. 3 Mar 2022Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)1,518 days (about 4 years) later
  4. 24 Mar 2022CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)21 days later
  5. 8 Nov 2024CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active961 days (about 3 years) later
  6. 21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated347 days (about 12 months) later
  7. 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com387 days (about 1 year) later

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

MetricValueWhat it means
Attack vectorNetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network.
Attack complexityLowRepeatable attack, no special conditions.
Privileges requiredLowThe attacker needs basic user privileges.
User interactionNoneNo victim action needed.
ScopeUnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
ConfidentialityHighTotal data disclosure possible.
IntegrityHighComplete modification possible.
AvailabilityHighFull outage possible.

Common questions

Is CVE-2017-6736 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2017-6736 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.

How severe is CVE-2017-6736?

CVE-2017-6736 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.

Is there a patch for CVE-2017-6736?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2017-6736. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2017-6736 affect?

CVE-2017-6736 affects cisco:ios, cisco:ios_xe. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

References

NVDCVE.orgCVE DetailsSource

7 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.

Exploits (1)

Other links (6)

Where the data on this page comes from

Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.

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