Cisco FXOS and NX-OS Software Unauthorized Administrator Account Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the write-erase feature of Cisco FXOS Software and Cisco NX-OS Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to configure an unauthorized administrator account for an affected device.

The vulnerability exists because the affected software does not properly delete sensitive files when certain CLI commands are used to clear the device configuration and reload a device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by logging into an affected device as an administrative user and configuring an unauthorized account for the device. The account would not require a password for authentication and would be accessible only via a Secure Shell (SSH) connection to the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to configure an unauthorized account that has administrative privileges, does not require a password for authentication, and does not appear in the running configuration or the audit logs for the affected device.

Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

This advisory is available at the following link:
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180620-nxosadmin [“https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180620-nxosadmin”]

This advisory is part of the June 2018 Cisco FXOS and NX-OS Software Security Advisory Collection, which includes 24 Cisco Security Advisories that describe 24 vulnerabilities. For a complete list of the advisories and links to them, see Cisco Event Response: June 2018 Cisco FXOS and NX-OS Software Security Advisory Collection [“https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/viewErp.x?alertId=ERP-67770”].