# CVE-2018-0138: Security feature bypass in Cisco Firepower System Software

> An unauthenticated remote attacker can bypass BitTorrent file blocking policies on Cisco Firepower devices by sending crafted handshake messages.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 8 Feb 2018
- **Updated:** 2 Dec 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5qfr-j674-96hc

## What is CVE-2018-0138?

CVE-2018-0138 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense, published on 8 Feb 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the detection engine of Cisco Firepower System Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass file policies that are configured to block files transmitted to an affected device via the BitTorrent protocol. The vulnerability exists because the affected software does not detect BitTorrent handshake messages correctly. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted BitTorrent connection request to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass file policies that are configured to block files transmitted to the affected device via the BitTorrent protocol. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve26946.

Weakness: CWE-693 (Protection Mechanism Failure)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-0138?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-0138?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-0138 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-0138 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0138 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense

- [CVE-2024-20412](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20412/): Hardcoded credentials in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2024-20330](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20330/): Memory corruption in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2024-20339](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20339/): Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software for Firepower 2100 Series TLS Denial of Service Vulnerability (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2024-20351](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-20351/): Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software Snort Firewall Denial of Service Vulnerability (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2023-20083](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20083/): Denial of service in Cisco Firepower Threat Defense Software (high 8.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-0138 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-0138 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense, published on 8 Feb 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0138 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense. 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-2018-0138/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0138/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-0138
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0138
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-0138

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0138/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.