Cisco NX-OS Software Input Validation Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the input parsing of Cisco NX-OS Software could
allow an unauthenticated, local attacker to execute commands on the
underlying operating system.

The vulnerability is due to poor processing of parameters that include special characters. An attacker could
exploit this vulnerability by using using the Linux pipe symbol ( | ) within a command that executes a system() call. A
successful exploit could allow the attacker access to the bash shell and run arbitrary shell
commands with administrative privileges.

Cisco has confirmed the vulnerability in a security notice and has released software updates.

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker requires authenticated access to the targeted system. Authenticated access may require the attacker to access trusted, internal networks. These access requirements could limit the likelihood of a successful exploit.

Cisco indicates through the CVSS score that functional exploit code exists; however, the code is not known to be publicly available.