# CVE-2018-0151: Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software Quality of Service Remote Code Execution

> Remote attackers can trigger a buffer overflow in the QoS subsystem to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service on Cisco IOS devices.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 3 Mar 2022 (CISA KEV)
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Mar 2018
- **Updated:** 12 Jan 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mpwr-vh8m-qpfg

## What is CVE-2018-0151?

CVE-2018-0151 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 28 Mar 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the quality of service (QoS) subsystem of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition or execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability is due to incorrect bounds checking of certain values in packets that are destined for UDP port 18999 of an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious packets to an affected device. When the packets are processed, an exploitable buffer overflow condition may occur. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected device with elevated privileges. The attacker could also leverage this vulnerability to cause the device to reload, causing a temporary DoS condition while the device is reloading. The malicious packets must be destined to and processed by an affected device. Traffic transiting a device will not trigger the vulnerability. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvf73881.

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-0151?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios Xe.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-0151?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-0151 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 17 Mar 2022.

## Is CVE-2018-0151 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2018-0151 in the wild since at least 3 Mar 2022.

## 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-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)
- [CVE-2019-12643](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12643/): Cisco REST API Container for IOS XE Software Authentication Bypass Vulnerability (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-0151 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-0151 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Cisco Ios Xe, published on 28 Mar 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2018-0151 in the wild since at least 3 Mar 2022.

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-2018-0151/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0151/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-0151
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0151
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-0151

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0151/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.