CVE-2018-0158

Exp

A vulnerability in the Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) module of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a memory leak or a reload of an affected device that leads to a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to incorrect processing of certain IKEv2 packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IKEv2 packets to an affected device to be processed. A successful exploit could cause an affected device to continuously consume memory and eventually reload, resulting in a DoS condition. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvf22394.

Published: 2018-03-28 Last update: 2026-01-14 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2018-0158 is rated Critical Active Threat (95.7/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 14.56%, 94th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-03-03) affecting Cisco / IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software. a weakness (CWE-20) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. EPSS rose +3.24% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. 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.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2018-0158

Name: Cisco IOS and XE Software Internet Key Exchange Memory Leak Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2022-03-03

Action due: 2022-03-17

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-0158

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 2026-03-07 11.32% 14.56% +3.24%
2 2025-12-16 14.98% 11.32% -3.66%
3 2025-11-21 — 14.98% —

Full EPSS history (18 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-0158

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.6 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.
 3.9 4.0 [email protected]
8.6 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.
 3.9 4.0 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
7.8 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 10.0 6.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-0158

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-0158

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco ios 15.5\(3\)s1.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.5\(3\)s1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios 15.5\(3\)s1.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.5\(3\)s1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios 15.5\(3\)s1.4 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.5\(3\)s1.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios 15.5\(3\)s1.5 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.5\(3\)s1.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios 15.5\(3\)s1.7 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.5\(3\)s1.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios 15.5\(3\)s1.8 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.5\(3\)s1.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios 15.5\(3\)s1.9 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.5\(3\)s1.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios 15.5\(3\)s1.10 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.5\(3\)s1.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios 15.5\(3\)s1.11 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.5\(3\)s1.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios 15.5\(3\)s1.12 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios:15.5\(3\)s1.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xe 15.5\(3\)s1.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.5\(3\)s1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xe 15.5\(3\)s1.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.5\(3\)s1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xe 15.5\(3\)s1.4 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.5\(3\)s1.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xe 15.5\(3\)s1.5 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.5\(3\)s1.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xe 15.5\(3\)s1.7 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.5\(3\)s1.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xe 15.5\(3\)s1.8 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.5\(3\)s1.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xe 15.5\(3\)s1.9 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.5\(3\)s1.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xe 15.5\(3\)s1.10 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.5\(3\)s1.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xe 15.5\(3\)s1.11 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.5\(3\)s1.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xe 15.5\(3\)s1.12 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xe:15.5\(3\)s1.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-0158

URL Tags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103566 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040595 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-03 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource VDB Entry
https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-107-04 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource VDB Entry
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180328-ike Vendor Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-0158 US Government Resource
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