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Firepower Extensible Operating System CVE-2017-3883

HIGH
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (CWE-770)
2017-10-19 psirt@cisco.com
8.6
CVSS 3.0 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Resource allocation limits
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 8.6 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. EPSS exploitation probability: 1.50%.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could exhaust system resources through uncontrolled allocation by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 1.5% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

A vulnerability in the authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) implementation of Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System (FXOS) and NX-OS System Software could allow an. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Set resource limits, implement rate limiting, validate input sizes.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Allocation of Resources Without Limits (CWE-770), which allows attackers to exhaust system resources through uncontrolled allocation. A vulnerability in the authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) implementation of Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System (FXOS) and NX-OS System Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to reload. The vulnerability occurs because AAA processes prevent the NX-OS System Manager from receiving keepalive messages when an affected device receives a high rate of login attempts, such as in a brute-force login attack. System memory can run low on the FXOS devices under the same conditions, which could cause the AAA process to unexpectedly restart or cause the device to reload. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by performing a brute-force login attack against a device that is configured with AAA security services. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products if they are running Cisco FXOS or NX-OS System Software that is configured for AAA services: Firepower 4100 Series Next-Generation Firewall, Firepower 9300 Security Appliance, Multilayer Director Switches, Nexus 1000V Series Switches, Nexus 1100 Series Cloud Services Platforms, Nexus 2000 Series Switches, Nexus 3000 Series Switches, Nexus 3500 Platform Switches, Nexus 5000 Series Switches, Nexus 5500 Platform Switches, Nexus 5600 Platform Switches, Nexus 6000 Series Switches, Nexus 7000 Series Switches, Nexus 7700 Series Switches, Nexus 9000 Series Switches in NX-OS mode, Nexus 9500 R-Series Line Cards and Fabric Modules, Unified Computing System (UCS) 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects, UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects, UCS 6300 Series Fabric Interconnects. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCuq58760, CSCuq71257, CSCur97432, CSCus05214, CSCux54898, CSCvc33141, CSCvd36971, CSCve03660. Affected products include: Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System, Cisco Fxos, Cisco Nx-Os.

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.6 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

A vulnerability in the authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) implementation of Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System (FXOS) and NX-OS System Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to reload. The vulnerability occurs because AAA processes prevent the NX-OS System Manager from receiving keepalive messages when an affected device receives a high rate of login attempts, such as in a brute-force login attack. System memory can run low on the FXOS devices under the same conditions, which could cause the AAA process to unexpectedly restart or cause the device to reload. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by performing a brute-force login attack against a device that is configured with AAA security services. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products if they are running Cisco FXOS or NX-OS System Software that is configured for AAA services: Firepower 4100 Series Next-Generation Firewall, Firepower 9300 Security Appliance, Multilayer Director Switches, Nexus 1000V Series Switches, Nexus 1100 Series Cloud Services Platforms, Nexus 2000 Series Switches, Nexus 3000 Series Switches, Nexus 3500 Platform Switches, Nexus 5000 Series Switches, Nexus 5500 Platform Switches, Nexus 5600 Platform Switches, Nexus 6000 Series Switches, Nexus 7000 Series Switches, Nexus 7700 Series Switches, Nexus 9000 Series Switches in NX-OS mode, Nexus 9500 R-Series Line Cards and Fabric Modules, Unified Computing System (UCS) 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects, UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects, UCS 6300 Series Fabric Interconnects. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCuq58760, CSCuq71257, CSCur97432, CSCus05214, CSCux54898, CSCvc33141, CSCvd36971, CSCve03660.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.5%
Top 19% exploitable
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 1.5%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

44
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +43
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:o:cisco:firepower_extensible_operating_system:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:fxos:2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:7.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:8.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:7.0\(3\)i3\(1\):*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:7.1\(0.1\):*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:cisco:nx-os:2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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