CVE-2017-12278

A vulnerability in the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) subsystem of Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to restart, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to a memory leak that occurs on an affected device after the device fails to deallocate a buffer that is used when certain MIBs are polled. An attacker who knows the SNMP Version 2 SNMP Read string or has valid SNMP Version 3 credentials for an affected device could repeatedly poll the affected MIB object IDs (OIDs) and consume available memory on the device. When memory is sufficiently depleted on the device, the device will restart, resulting in a DoS condition. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvc71674.

Published: 2017-11-02 Last update: 2026-05-13 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2017-12278 is rated Moderate Risk (51.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.61%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2017-12278

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.81% 1.61% +0.80%
2 2025-03-19 0.64% 0.81% +0.17%
3 2025-03-17 — 0.64% —

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2017-12278

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.3 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 4.0 [email protected]
5.2 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:A/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:A)
Requires access to an adjacent network segment.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 4.4 6.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2017-12278

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2017-12278

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco wireless_lan_controller_software — cpe:2.3:o:cisco:wireless_lan_controller_software:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2017-12278

cvelogic Threat Intelligence