# CVE-2016-6473: Denial of service in Cisco IOS

> An unauthenticated adjacent attacker can cause a Layer 2 network storm on Cisco Catalyst and Nexus switches, disrupting network availability.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Dec 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-cmgm-hrg8-r7v6

## What is CVE-2016-6473?

CVE-2016-6473 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Cisco Ios, published on 14 Dec 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in Cisco IOS on Catalyst Switches and Nexus 9300 Series Switches could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a Layer 2 network storm. More Information: CSCuu69332, CSCux07028. Known Affected Releases: 15.2(3)E. Known Fixed Releases: 12.2(50)SE4 12.2(50)SE5 12.2(50)SQ5 12.2(50)SQ6 12.2(50)SQ7 12.2(52)EY4 12.2(52)SE1 12.2(53)EX 12.2(53)SE 12.2(53)SE1 12.2(53)SE2 12.2(53)SG10 12.2(53)SG11 12.2(53)SG2 12.2(53)SG9 12.2(54)SG1 12.2(55)EX3 12.2(55)SE 12.2(55)SE1 12.2(55)SE10 12.2(55)SE2 12.2(55)SE3 12.2(55)SE4 12.2(55)SE5 12.2(55)SE6 12.2(55)SE7 12.2(55)SE8 12.2(55)SE9 12.2(58)EZ 12.2(58)SE1 12.2(58)SE2 12.2(60)EZ 12.2(60)EZ1 12.2(60)EZ2 12.2(60)EZ3 12.2(60)EZ4 12.2(60)EZ5 12.2(60)EZ6 12.2(60)EZ7 12.2(60)EZ8 15.0(1)EY2 15.0(1)SE 15.0(1)SE2 15.0(1)SE3 15.0(2)EA 15.0(2)EB 15.0(2)EC 15.0(2)ED 15.0(2)EH 15.0(2)EJ 15.0(2)EJ1 15.0(2)EK1 15.0(2)EX 15.0(2)EX1 15.0(2)EX3 15.0(2)EX4 15.0(2)EX5 15.0(2)EY 15.0(2)EY1 15.0(2)EY2 15.0(2)EZ 15.0(2)SE 15.0(2)SE1 15.0(2)SE2 15.0(2)SE3 15.0(2)SE4 15.0(2)SE5 15.0(2)SE6 15.0(2)SE7 15.0(2)SE9 15.0(2)SG10 15.0(2)SG3 15.0(2)SG6 15.0(2)SG7 15.0(2)SG8 15.0(2)SG9 15.0(2a)EX5 15.1(2)SG 15.1(2)SG1 15.1(2)SG2 15.1(2)SG3 15.1(2)SG4 15.1(2)SG5 15.1(2)SG6 15.2(1)E 15.2(1)E1 15.2(1)E2 15.2(1)E3 15.2(1)EY 15.2(2)E 15.2(2)E3 15.2(2b)E.

Weakness: CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component), CWE-399

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-6473?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-6473?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-6473 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-6473 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6473 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Ios

- [CVE-2017-12240](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12240/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software DHCP Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-3881](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3881/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-0167](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0167/): Cisco IOS, XR, and XE Software Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-6736](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6736/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-6737](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6737/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-6473 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-6473 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Cisco Ios, published on 14 Dec 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-2016-6473 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Ios. 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-2016-6473/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6473/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6473
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6473
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-6473

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6473/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.