Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
- EPSS is 3.16% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2018
CVE-2018-0273High confidence
n/a Cisco StarOS IPsec Manager: security vulnerability
Unknown · Cisco StarOS IPsec Manager
Official source article: Cisco CISCO-SA-20180418-STAROSASR ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.
5.3MediumCVSS 3.0
Scheduled
Fix not verifiedMedium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityMedium→Operational priority:Medium, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Unknown Cisco StarOS IPsec Manager and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
A vulnerability in the IPsec Manager of Cisco StarOS for Cisco Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 5000 Series Routers and Virtualized Packet Core (VPC) System Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to terminate all active IPsec VPN tunnels and prevent new tunnels from being established, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper processing of corrupted Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) messages. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IKEv2 messages toward an affected router. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the ipsecmgr service to reload. A reload of this service could cause all IPsec VPN tunnels to be terminated and prevent new tunnels from being established until the service has restarted, resulting in a DoS condition. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products when they are running Cisco StarOS: Cisco Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 5000 Series Routers, Virtualized Packet Core (VPC) System Software. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve29605.
What
A vulnerability in the IPsec Manager of Cisco StarOS for Cisco Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 5000 Series Routers and Virtualized Packet Core (VPC) System Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to terminate all active IPsec VPN tunnels and prevent new tunnels from being established, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper processing of corrupted Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) messages. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IKEv2 messages toward an affected router. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the ipsecmgr service to reload. A reload of this service could cause all IPsec VPN tunnels to be terminated and prevent new tunnels from being established until the service has restarted, resulting in a DoS condition. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products when they are running Cisco StarOS: Cisco Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 5000 Series Routers, Virtualized Packet Core (VPC) System Software. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve29605.
Why
The current structured CVE record identifies a security weakness, but the root cause requires confirmation in the linked vendor material.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
What
A vulnerability in the IPsec Manager of Cisco StarOS for Cisco Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 5000 Series Routers and Virtualized Packet Core (VPC) System Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to terminate all active IPsec VPN tunnels and prevent new tunnels from being established, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper processing of corrupted Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) messages. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IKEv2 messages toward an affected router. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the ipsecmgr service to reload. A reload of this service could cause all IPsec VPN tunnels to be terminated and prevent new tunnels from being established until the service has restarted, resulting in a DoS condition. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products when they are running Cisco StarOS: Cisco Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 5000 Series Routers, Virtualized Packet Core (VPC) System Software. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve29605.
Why
The current structured CVE record identifies a security weakness, but the root cause requires confirmation in the linked vendor material.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- a network path → vulnerable operation → disrupt the affected service
- Attack surface
- Network
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-399 ↗
CWE-399. Open the MITRE definition for the exact weakness description.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:LCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.0: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.ALowAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a limited loss.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Fix not verified
- Affected
- Cisco StarOS IPsec Manager: Cisco StarOS IPsec Manager
- Fixed
- No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Action
- No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 19 Apr 2018 · Last source change 29 Nov 2024, 15:14 UTC · CWE-399
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-01
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2018-1096
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Missing structured fields: affected product. Missing data is not evidence of low risk; review the primary advisory.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
- ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2018-1096 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.ENISA EUVD ↗
- Before
- not recorded
- After
- {"euvdId":"EUVD-2018-1096"}
- Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added vendor advisory: tools.cisco.com/cisco-sa-20180418-starosasr.tools.cisco.com ↗
- Before
- no authoritative guidance recorded
- After
- vendor advisory: tools.cisco.com/cisco-sa-20180418-starosasr
- SeveritySeverity changed from Unknown to Medium.NIST NVD ↗
- Before
- Unknown
- After
- Medium
- CVSS scoreCVSS score changed from not recorded to 5.3 (CVSS 3.0 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L).NIST NVD ↗
- Before
- not recorded
- After
- 5.3 (CVSS 3.0 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L)
- Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.CNA ↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.