CVE-2017-6737: Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

High severity, CVSS 8.8. Actively exploited: in CISA KEV since 2022-03-03. EPSS: 45.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

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 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

• Cisco IOS: from 12.0, up to and including 12.4; from 15.0, up to and including 15.6
• Cisco IOS XE: from 2.2.0, up to and including 3.17.0

Published 2017-07-17. Last modified 2026-06-17.