CVE-2017-12238VulnerabilityPublished 03/03/2022Updated 10/24/2026

CVE-2017-12238: Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series Switches VPLS Denial-of-Service Vulnerability

Affects Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series SwitchesSource CISA KEV

Severity

High

No CVSS score published yet

Exploitation: Actively exploited – in CISA KEV since 03/03/2022
KEV deadline: 03/24/2022
EPSS: 2.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 80% of CVEs

What to do

CISA required action

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-12238 (opens in a new tab)

Description

CVE-2017-12238 is a vulnerability in the Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) code of Cisco IOS for Catalyst 6800 Series Switches. It allows an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service. The vulnerability has been exploited in the wild. No specific affected versions or patch information are provided in the available data.

Summary

This vulnerability affects the VPLS functionality in Cisco IOS running on Catalyst 6800 Series Switches. An unauthenticated attacker with adjacent network access can exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service condition, disrupting network operations. The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2017-12238 and is associated with CWE-399 (Resource Management Errors). There is confirmed exploitation in the wild, indicating active threat activity targeting this issue. However, no explicit patch or remediation details are provided in the input data.

Impact

Successful exploitation results in denial of service on affected Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series Switches, potentially disrupting network connectivity and operations. The attacker does not require authentication but must have adjacent network access. This can impact network availability and reliability.

Mitigation

Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the Cisco vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Since no patch or workaround information is provided, administrators should monitor Cisco advisories for updates. Network segmentation limiting adjacent access to affected devices may reduce exposure.

Weaknesses

CWE-399Unclassified weakness (opens in a new tab)

What to do

Description

AnalysisAI-generated, updated 10/24/2026, 10:27:21 UTC

Weaknesses

References

Related threats