Cisco NX-OS Software DHCP Options Command Injection Vulnerability

A vulnerability in DHCP code used with PowerOn Auto Provisioning (POAP) of Cisco NX-OS could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to inject arbitrary commands into the Cisco NX-OS device.

The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation of the DHCP options returned as a result of POAP. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by responding to the initial DHCP request initiated as part of POAP with crafted DHCP packets. An exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands in the security context of the root user. The attack can occur during the POAP initialization process.

Cisco has confirmed the vulnerability and released software updates.

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be on the same broadcast or collision domain as the affected device. This access requirement could decrease the likelihood of a successful exploit.