# CVE-2018-0253: Command injection in Cisco Secure Access Control System

> Unauthenticated remote attackers can execute arbitrary commands on Cisco Secure ACS via crafted AMF messages, requiring immediate patching.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 May 2018
- **Updated:** 29 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-99xc-j93w-f7qr

## What is CVE-2018-0253?

CVE-2018-0253 is a critical command injection vulnerability in Cisco Secure Access Control System, published on 2 May 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the ACS Report component of Cisco Secure Access Control System (ACS) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on an affected system. Commands executed by the attacker are processed at the targeted user's privilege level. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of the Action Message Format (AMF) protocol. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted AMF message that contains malicious code to a targeted user. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the ACS device. This vulnerability affects all releases of Cisco Secure ACS prior to Release 5.8 Patch 7. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve69037.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-0253?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Secure Access Control System.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-0253?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-0253 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-0253 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0253 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Secure Access Control System

- [CVE-2018-0147](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0147/): Cisco Secure Access Control System Java Deserialization (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2014-0648](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0648/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2014-0650](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0650/): Command injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2014-0649](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0649/): Privilege escalation in n/a (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2017-3841](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3841/): Information disclosure in Cisco Secure Access Control System (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-0253 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-0253 is a critical command injection vulnerability in Cisco Secure Access Control System, published on 2 May 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-2018-0253 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Secure Access Control System. 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-2018-0253/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0253/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-0253
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0253
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-0253

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0253/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.