# CVE-2018-0275: Privilege escalation in Cisco Identity Services Engine

> An authenticated local attacker can exploit improper support tunnel configuration to gain root access and execute arbitrary commands on Cisco ISE.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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:** 19 Apr 2018
- **Updated:** 29 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5c9x-fhgv-q6jp

## What is CVE-2018-0275?

CVE-2018-0275 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine, published on 19 Apr 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the support tunnel feature of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to access the device's shell. The vulnerability is due to improper configuration of the support tunnel feature. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by tricking the device into unlocking the support user account and accessing the tunnel password and device serial number. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to run any system command with root access. This affects Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) software versions prior to 2.2.0.470. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvf54409.

Weakness: CWE-16

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-0275?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Identity Services Engine.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-0275?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-0275 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-0275 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0275 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Identity Services Engine

- [CVE-2026-76460](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76460/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-20337](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20337/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Injection (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-20281](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20281/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Injection (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-20130](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20130/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Hardening Release - Improper Neutralization Vulnerabilities (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-20192](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20192/): Cisco Identity Services Engine Hardening Release - Access Control Vulnerabilities (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-0275 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-0275 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Identity Services Engine, published on 19 Apr 2018. 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-2018-0275 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Identity Services Engine. 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-2018-0275/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0275/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-0275
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0275
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-0275

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0275/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.