How severe is CVE-2017-6742?

CVE-2017-6742 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2017-6742?

Affected package information for CVE-2017-6742 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2017-6742?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2017-6742 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2017-6742 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2017-6742, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2017-6742?

CVE-2017-6742 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 14.8%, placing it in the 95th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

Is CVE-2017-6742 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2017-6742 (Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2023-04-19. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2023-05-10. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2017-6742?

CVE-2017-6742 is classified as Buffer Overflow (CWE-119). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2017-6742?

CVE-2017-6742 affects cisco ios; cisco ios xe. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2017-6742 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2017-6742 was published on July 17, 2017 and was last updated on April 22, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2023-04-19 — agencies required to remediate by 2023-05-10

CVE-2017-6742

HIGH

A vulnerability in the SNMP implementation of could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a reload of the affected system or to remotely execute code. An attacker could exploit…

Published

Jul 17, 2017

Updated

Apr 22, 2026

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

1 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

14.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk95th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

The vulnerability is due to a buffer overflow in the affected code area. The vulnerability affects all versions of SNMP (versions 1, 2c, and 3). The attacker must know the SNMP read only community string (SNMP version 2c or earlier) or the user credentials (SNMPv3). An exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code and obtain full control of the system or to cause a reload of the affected system.

Only traffic directed to the affected system can be used to exploit this vulnerability.

Affected Products

2 products · 3 configurations

ioscisco

≥ 15.0 && ≤ 15.6

range

ios xecisco

≥ 2.2.0 && ≤ 3.17

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) subsystem of Cisco IOS 12.…

cisa.govCISAApr 2023

Frequently Asked Questions

A vulnerability in the SNMP implementation of could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a reload of the affected system or to remotely execute code. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted SNMP packet to the affected device.  The vulnerability is due to a buffer overflow in the affected code area. The vulnerability affects all versions of SNMP (versions 1, 2c, and 3). The attacker must know the SNMP read only community string (SNMP version 2c or earlier) or the user credentials (SNMPv3). An exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2017-6742 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2017-6742 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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