CVE-2017-12238

Read full description

A vulnerability in the Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) code of Cisco IOS 15.0 through 15.4 for Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series Switches could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a C6800-16P10G or C6800-16P10G-XL type line card to crash, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to a memory management issue in the affected software. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a large number of VPLS-generated MAC entries in the MAC address table of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a C6800-16P10G or C6800-16P10G-XL type line card to crash, resulting in a DoS condition. This vulnerability affects Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series Switches that are running a vulnerable release of Cisco IOS Software and have a Cisco C6800-16P10G or C6800-16P10G-XL line card in use with Supervisor Engine 6T. To be vulnerable, the device must also be configured with VPLS and the C6800-16P10G or C6800-16P10G-XL line card needs to be the core-facing MPLS interfaces. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCva61927.

CVSS 6.5 (MEDIUM) KEV: KNOWN CATALOG

Attention and evidence

HYPE SCORE

0.0/10

REALITY · THREAT PRIORITY

8.0/10

General review priority; not probability

Evidence confidence: Exploitation recorded

Why this priority?

Recorded exploitation baseline: +7.00
Technical severity: CVSS 6.5: +0.97
Fresh EPSS: 2.02%: +0.01

General review priority, not probability, victim count or asset-specific risk. A range covers missing CVSS/EPSS inputs within the current evidence state.

Based on public data to date.

Hype components

Headline sample (25%)

0/100

Press, 30 days (60%)

0/100

Grounded branding (15%)

0/100

HYPE TOTAL0/100

Sources and documents

No source documents yet.

Score evolution

● Hype ● Reality

Earlier evidence-support scores are retained in history; this chart shows only the current priority definition.

First record: hype 0.0 · reality 8.0 (2026-11-02 15:12). The curve appears once the score changes.

Public exploit evidence

Public exploit entries / repo candidates

Evidence context and dated references

Reality is general threat/review priority, combining observed exploitation, CVSS severity and fresh EPSS. Evidence confidence is separate. This is not calibrated risk, a victim count or an asset-specific assessment. A range reflects missing numeric inputs.

Evidence in context

Confidence in exploitation evidence: Exploitation recorded
Priority basis: Recorded exploitation; CVSS 6.5; EPSS 2.0%
Attention, last 30 days: 0 distinct story titles; 0 press documents; 0 publisher domains.
Technical potential: adjacent access, no prior privileges, no user interaction.
Observed activity: Exploitation recorded in CISA KEV.
Known scale: Not quantified.
Evidence confidence basis: Trusted exploitation confirmation

Score evaluated: 2026-11-05 13:57:48.666564+00:00 · EPSS snapshot: 2026-11-05T12:03:04Z

Source event timeline

Published

28 Sep 2017, 07:00

Added to the CISA KEV catalog

03 Mar 2022, 00:00

Score calculated

05 Nov 2026, 13:57