Software Engineering Institute

The SNMP protocol enables network and system administrators to remotely monitor and configure devices on the network (devices such as switches and routers). There is a vulnerability in way Cisco IOS processes solicited SNMP operations. Sustained exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to a denial of service condition affecting large portions of the Internet community.

For more information, please refer to Cisco Security Advisory: "Vulnerabilities in SNMP Message Processing".

A remote, unauthenticated attacker could cause the vulnerable device to reload. Repeated exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to a sustained denial of service condition.

Upgrade

Cisco has published detailed information about upgrading affected Cisco IOS software to correct this vulnerability. System managers are encouraged to upgrade to one of the non-vulnerable releases. For additional information regarding availability of repaired releases, please refer to the "Software Versions and Fixes" section of the Cisco Security Advisory.

Workarounds

Cisco recommends a number of workarounds, including disabling SNMP processing on affected devices. For a complete list of workarounds, see the Cisco Security Advisory.