# CVE-2016-6450: Path traversal in Cisco IOS XE 3.7(0) through Denali-16.3.1

> An authenticated local attacker can exploit the unbundle utility to gain write access to underlying operating system files on affected Cisco network devices.

- **Severity:** Low 2.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 19 Nov 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-98rg-j7wr-2x79

## What is CVE-2016-6450?

CVE-2016-6450 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 19 Nov 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the package unbundle utility of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to gain write access to some files in the underlying operating system. This vulnerability affects the following products if they are running a vulnerable release of Cisco IOS XE Software: Cisco 5700 Series Wireless LAN Controllers, Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 4500E Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 4500X Series Switches. More Information: CSCva60013 CSCvb22622. Known Affected Releases: 3.7(0) 16.4.1 Denali-16.1.3 Denali-16.2.2 Denali-16.3.1. Known Fixed Releases: 15.2(4)E3 16.1(2.208) 16.2(2.42) 16.3(1.22) 16.4(0.190) 16.5(0.29).

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-6450?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios Xe.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-6450?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-6450 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-6450 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6450 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Ios Xe

- [CVE-2023-20198](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20198/): Cisco IOS XE Web UI Privilege Escalation (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-0151](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0151/): Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software Quality of Service Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-20273](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20273/): Cisco IOS XE Web UI Command Injection (high 7.2, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-20188](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20188/): Hardcoded credentials in Cisco IOS XE Software (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2021-34770](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-34770/): Cisco IOS XE Software for Catalyst 9000 Family Wireless Controllers CAPWAP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-6450 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-6450 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 19 Nov 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6450 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Ios Xe. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6450/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6450/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6450
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6450
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-6450

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6450/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.