What is CVE-2017-12235?

CVE-2017-12235 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco Industrial Ethernet 2000 16ptc-G-E Switch, classified under Improper Input Validation. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2017-09-29.

How severe is CVE-2017-12235?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.

Is CVE-2017-12235 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2017-12235 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Improper input validation in Cisco Industrial Ethernet 2000 16ptc-G-E Switch

CVE-2017-12235

A vulnerability in the implementation of the PROFINET Discovery and Configuration Protocol (PN-DCP) for Cisco IOS 12.2 through 15.6 could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to the improper parsing of ingress PN-DCP Identify Request packets destined to an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted PN-DCP Identify Request packet to an affected device and then continuing to send normal PN-DCP Identify Request packets to the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. This vulnerability affects Cisco devices that are configured to process PROFINET messages. Beginning with Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(52)SE, PROFINET is enabled by default on all the base switch module and expansion-unit Ethernet ports. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCuz47179.

Vulnerability class: Drupalgeddon 2 (CVE-2018-7600)

Published 2017-09-29 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.071 (94.1th percentile), scored 2026-10-19.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 94th percentile — 94.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.071 · newest: 0.071 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-20 — Improper Input Validation

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2022-03-03. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2022-03-24.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

www.securityfocus.com/bid/101043 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, Broken Link)
tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20170927… (Vendor Advisory)
www.securitytracker.com/id/1039451 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, Broken Link)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-12235?: CVE-2017-12235 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco Industrial Ethernet 2000 16ptc-G-E Switch, classified under Improper Input Validation. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2017-09-29.
How severe is CVE-2017-12235?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2017-12235 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2017-12235 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.