A vulnerability in the quality of service (QoS) subsystem of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition or execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability is due to incorrect bounds checking of certain values in packets that are destined for UDP port 18999 of an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious packets to an affected device. When the packets are processed, an exploitable buffer overflow condition may occur. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected device with elevated privileges. The attacker could also leverage this vulnerability to cause the device to reload, causing a temporary DoS condition while the device is reloading. The malicious packets must be destined to and processed by an affected device. Traffic transiting a device will not trigger the vulnerability. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvf73881.
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2018-0151 is rated Critical Active Threat (94.1/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 5.85%, 91th percentile). Core evidence: CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-03-03) affecting Cisco / IOS and IOS XE Software. a weakness (CWE-119) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. Mandatory action: The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.
Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.
: Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software Quality of Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail
: 2022-03-03
: 2022-03-17
: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
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 | 2026-06-02 | 7.74% | 5.85% | -1.89% |
| 2 | 2026-05-30 | 5.85% | 7.74% | +1.89% |
| 3 | 2026-05-24 | — | 5.85% | — |
Full EPSS history (40 records total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 3.1 | CRITICAL |
|
3.9 | 5.9 | [email protected] |
| 9.8 | 3.1 | CRITICAL |
|
3.9 | 5.9 | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 |
| 10.0 | 2.0 | HIGH |
|
10.0 | 10.0 | [email protected] |
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103540 | Third Party Advisory VDB Entry |
| http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040582 | Third Party Advisory VDB Entry |
| https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-03 | Third Party Advisory US Government Resource |
| https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180328-qos | Mitigation Vendor Advisory |
| https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-0151 | US Government Resource |