# CVE-2018-0294: Privilege escalation in Cisco FXOS and NX-OS unknown

> An authenticated local attacker can create a hidden, passwordless admin account by exploiting improper file deletion during configuration clearing.

- **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:** 20 Jun 2018
- **Updated:** 29 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-f392-wcr5-grrm

## What is CVE-2018-0294?

CVE-2018-0294 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System, published on 20 Jun 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 write-erase feature of Cisco FXOS Software and Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to configure an unauthorized administrator account for an affected device. The vulnerability exists because the affected software does not properly delete sensitive files when certain CLI commands are used to clear the device configuration and reload a device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging into an affected device as an administrative user and configuring an unauthorized account for the device. The account would not require a password for authentication and would be accessible only via a Secure Shell (SSH) connection to the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to configure an unauthorized account that has administrative privileges, does not require a password for authentication, and does not appear in the running configuration or the audit logs for the affected device. This vulnerability affects Firepower 4100 Series Next-Generation Firewalls, Firepower 9300 Security Appliance, Nexus 1000V Series Switches, Nexus 1100 Series Cloud Services Platforms, Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders, Nexus 3500 Platform Switches, Nexus 4000 Series Switches, Nexus 5500 Platform Switches, Nexus 5600 Platform Switches, Nexus 6000 Series Switches, UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects, UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects, UCS 6300 Series Fabric Interconnects. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvd13993, CSCvd34845, CSCvd34857, CSCvd34862, CSCvd34879, CSCve35753.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-0294?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System, Cisco Fxos, Cisco Nx-Os.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-0294?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-0294 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-0294 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0294 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System

- [CVE-2018-0310](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0310/): Information disclosure in Cisco FXOS and NX-OS unknown (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2015-6435](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-6435/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-1368](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1368/): Memory corruption in Cisco NX-OS Software (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-3456](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3456/): Cisco FXOS Software Firepower Chassis Manager Cross-Site Request Forgery Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-3172](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3172/): Cisco FXOS and NX-OS Software Cisco Discovery Protocol Arbitrary Code Execution and Denial of Service Vulnerability (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-0294 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-0294 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating System, published on 20 Jun 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-2018-0294 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Firepower Extensible Operating 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-2018-0294/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0294/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-0294
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0294
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-0294

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0294/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.