CVE-2017-12237
A vulnerability in the Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) module of Cisco IOS 15.0 through 15.6 and Cisco IOS XE 3.5 through 16.5…
- 7.5HighCVSS base score
- 7.1%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 5.7% of all CVEs
- YesKnown exploitedin CISA's KEV since 3 Mar 2022
- YesPublic exploitsa reference or SSVC says so
Description
A vulnerability in the Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) module of Cisco IOS 15.0 through 15.6 and Cisco IOS XE 3.5 through 16.5 could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause high CPU utilization, traceback messages, or a reload of an affected device that leads to a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to how an affected device processes certain IKEv2 packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specific IKEv2 packets to an affected device to be processed. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause high CPU utilization, traceback messages, or a reload of the affected device that leads to a DoS condition. This vulnerability affects Cisco devices that have the Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol (ISAKMP) enabled. Although only IKEv2 packets can be used to trigger this vulnerability, devices that are running Cisco IOS Software or Cisco IOS XE Software are vulnerable when ISAKMP is enabled. A device does not need to be configured with any IKEv2-specific features to be vulnerable. Many features use IKEv2, including different types of VPNs such as the following: LAN-to-LAN VPN; Remote-access VPN, excluding SSL VPN; Dynamic Multipoint VPN (DMVPN); and FlexVPN. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvc41277.
Exploited in the wild
CISA lists this vulnerability in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software Internet Key Exchange Denial-of-Service Vulnerability.
- Added
- 3 Mar 2022
- Fix due (US federal)
- 24 Mar 2022
- Used by ransomware
- Not known
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
ENISA's EU Vulnerability Database lists it as exploited, from CISA's KEV, since 3 Mar 2022.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. CISA's SSVC rates its exploitation: it is being exploited.
Timeline
ID reserved
By cisco
- 56 days later
· 56 days later
Published
- 4 years later
· 4 years later
Added to CISA KEV
Known exploited in the wild
- 4 years later
· 4 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CISA-ADPADP (enrichment) | 3.1 | High7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 3.1 | High7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 7.1% · top 5.7% of all CVEs (9 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: partial
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.5.
Affected products
Cisco IOS and IOS XE
- affected Cisco IOS and IOS XE
References
4
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20170927-ike (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- 1039460 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKx_transferred
- 101037 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2017-12237 (opens in a new tab)government-resource
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- CISA KEV catalog (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2017-3810 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2017-12237)Record last updated .