A privilege escalation vulnerability in the Secure Shell (SSH) subsystem in the StarOS operating system for Cisco ASR 5000 Series, ASR 5500 Series, ASR 5700 Series devices, and Cisco Virtualized Packet Core could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to gain unrestricted, root shell access. The vulnerability is due to missing input validation of parameters passed during SSH or SFTP login. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by providing crafted user input to the SSH or SFTP command-line interface (CLI) during SSH or SFTP login. An exploit could allow an authenticated attacker to gain root privileges access on the router. Note: Only traffic directed to the affected system can be used to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability can be triggered via both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic. An established TCP connection toward port 22, the SSH default port, is needed to perform the attack. The attacker must have valid credentials to login to the system via SSH or SFTP. The following products have been confirmed to be vulnerable: Cisco ASR 5000/5500/5700 Series devices running StarOS after 17.7.0 and prior to 18.7.4, 19.5, and 20.2.3 with SSH configured are vulnerable. Cisco Virtualized Packet Core - Single Instance (VPC-SI) and Distributed Instance (VPC-DI) devices running StarOS prior to N4.2.7 (19.3.v7) and N4.7 (20.2.v0) with SSH configured are vulnerable. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCva65853.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.8, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 2 products from cisco, from cisco organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
First disclosed in 2017, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.
2017-03-15T20:59:00.147
2025-04-20T01:37:25.860
Deferred
CVSSv3.0: 8.8 (HIGH)
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
8.0
10.0
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.0.0 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.0.0.57828 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.0.0.59167 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.0.0.59211 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.0.l0.59219 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.1.0 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.1.0.59776 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.1.0.59780 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.1_base | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.3.0 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.3_base | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 18.4.0 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 19.0.1 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 19.0.m0.60737 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 19.0.m0.60828 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 19.0.m0.61045 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 19.1.0 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 19.1.0.61559 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 19.2.0 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 19.3.0 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | asr_5000_series_software | 20.0.0 | Yes |
| Application | cisco | virtualized_packet_core | v18.0_base | Yes |
| Application | cisco | virtualized_packet_core | v19.0_base | Yes |
| Application | cisco | virtualized_packet_core | v20.0_base | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For cisco's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.