CVE-2018-0150

What is this vulnerability?

CVE-2018-0150 is categorized as a critical Hard-coded Credentials flaw with a CVSS base score of 9.8. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.

A vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to a device running an affected release of Cisco IOS XE Software with the default username and password that are used at initial boot, aka a Static Credential Vulnerability. The vulnerability is due to an undocumented user account with privilege level 15 that has a default username and password. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using this account to remotely connect to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to the device with privilege level 15 access. This vulnerability affects Cisco devices that are running a vulnerable release of Cisco IOS XE Software Release 16.x. This vulnerability does not affect Cisco IOS XE Software releases prior to Release 16.x. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve89880.

This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.

Risk Assessment

Impact on Systems

✅ Credential Theft: Exposed secrets enable unauthorized access to infrastructure, cloud services, and third-party integrations.

✅ Compliance Violation: Leaking PII or credentials may violate GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOC 2 requirements.

✅ Supply Chain Risk: Compromised credentials in public repositories can propagate to downstream consumers.

How to Fix and Mitigate CVE-2018-0150

1. Apply Vendor Patches: Upgrade affected components to their latest, non-vulnerable versions immediately.
2. Implement Input Validation: Ensure all user-supplied data is validated, sanitized, and type-checked before processing.
3. Deploy Runtime Protection: Use Precogs continuous monitoring to detect exploitation attempts in real time.
4. Audit Dependencies: Review and update all third-party libraries and transitive dependencies.

Defending with Precogs AI

Precogs PII & Secrets Scanner automatically identifies hardcoded credentials, exposed API keys, and personally identifiable information leaks across repositories, CI/CD pipelines, and deployed artifacts.

Use Precogs to continuously scan your codebase, binaries, APIs, and infrastructure for this vulnerability class and related attack patterns. Our AI-powered detection engine combines static analysis with threat intelligence to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do.

Start scanning with Precogs →

Vulnerability Code Signature

Attack Data Flow

Vulnerable Code Pattern

// ❌ VULNERABLE: Hardcoded credential
public class DatabaseConfig {
    // Taint sink: secret embedded in code
    public static final String DB_PASSWORD = "SuperSecretPassword123!";
}

Secure Code Pattern

// ✅ SECURE: Environment variables
public class DatabaseConfig {
    // Sanitized configuration
    public static final String DB_PASSWORD = System.getenv("DB_PASSWORD");
}

How Precogs Detects This

Precogs PII & Secrets Scanner continuously monitors codebases for hardcoded secrets, API keys, and reversible encryption.