# CVE-2017-6679: Security feature bypass in Cisco Umbrella Virtual Appliance Version 2.0.3 and prior

> An undocumented auto-initiated SSH tunnel allowed Cisco personnel to access the appliance without explicit customer approval, bypassing security controls.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Dec 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x42g-fj2g-26mm

## What is CVE-2017-6679?

CVE-2017-6679 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Umbrella Virtual Appliance Version 2.0.3 and prior, published on 1 Dec 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Cisco Umbrella Virtual Appliance Version 2.0.3 and prior contained an undocumented encrypted remote support tunnel (SSH) which auto initiated from the customer's appliance to Cisco's SSH Hubs in the Umbrella datacenters. These tunnels were primarily leveraged for remote support and allowed for authorized/authenticated personnel from the Cisco Umbrella team to access the appliance remotely and obtain full control without explicit customer approval. To address this vulnerability, the Umbrella Virtual Appliance version 2.1.0 now requires explicit customer approval before an SSH tunnel from the VA to the Cisco terminating server can be established.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-6679?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Umbrella Virtual Appliance.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-6679?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-6679 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-6679 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-6679 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Umbrella Virtual Appliance Version 2.0.3 and prior

- [CVE-2017-12350](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12350/): Hardcoded credentials in Cisco Umbrella Insights Virtual Appliance (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2022-20773](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20773/): Cisco Umbrella Virtual Appliance Static SSH Host Key Vulnerability (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-20246](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20246/): Cisco Umbrella Virtual Appliance Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (medium 6.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-6679 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-6679 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Umbrella Virtual Appliance Version 2.0.3 and prior, published on 1 Dec 2017. 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-2017-6679 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Umbrella Virtual Appliance Version 2.0.3 and prior. 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-2017-6679/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6679/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-6679
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-6679
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-6679

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6679/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.