# CVE-2018-0473: Cisco IOS Software Precision Time Protocol Denial of Service Vulnerability

> An unauthenticated remote attacker can cause a denial of service in the Precision Time Protocol subsystem by sending crafted packets, disrupting network time synchronization.

- **Severity:** High 8.6 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/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:** 5 Oct 2018
- **Updated:** 26 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qpmh-4wc8-x2vf

## What is CVE-2018-0473?

CVE-2018-0473 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Cisco Ios, published on 5 Oct 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) subsystem of Cisco IOS Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition of the Precision Time Protocol. The vulnerability is due to insufficient processing of PTP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a custom PTP packet to, or through, an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a DoS condition for the PTP subsystem, resulting in time synchronization issues across the network.

Weakness: CWE-399

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-0473?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ios.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-0473?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-0473 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-0473 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0473 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Ios

- [CVE-2017-12240](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12240/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software DHCP Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-3881](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3881/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-0167](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0167/): Cisco IOS, XR, and XE Software Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-6736](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6736/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-6737](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6737/): Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-0473 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-0473 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Cisco Ios, published on 5 Oct 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-2018-0473 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Ios. 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-2018-0473/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0473/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-0473
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0473
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-0473

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0473/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.