Zombie Cisco Gear: CVE-2018-0171 Exploited by Russian Espionage

Russian state-sponsored hackers are actively exploiting a seven-year-old Cisco vulnerability—CVE-2018-0171—and turning forgotten infrastructure into surveillance tools. On this episode of IT SPARC Cast – CVE of the Week, John Barger and Lou Schmidt break down how outdated Cisco hardware is being targeted through the Smart Install feature and how the FSB-linked group “Berserk Bear” is using them to extract credentials and embed persistent access.

You’ll learn:

•Why legacy hardware in manufacturing, education, and telecom is at risk

•How attackers are using configuration harvesting for long-term access

•What “Cisco zombies” really means—and why it’s the wrong term

•Practical steps for discovery, mitigation, and infrastructure hygiene

From drop-ceiling surprises to international espionage, this episode is a must-listen for every IT leader responsible for aging infrastructure. Patch early. Patch often. And for the love of security, don’t feed the hackers.

⸻

📢 Wrap Up & Social Links

Got a similar story? Or maybe you’ve walked into a nightmare network too? Share it with us:

📩 [email protected]

💬 @ITSPARCCast on X

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/sparc-sales/

Follow the hosts:

👤 John Barger

X: @john_Video

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarger/

👤 Lou Schmidt

X: @loudoggeek

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-schmidt-b102446/

Be sure to Like, Subscribe, and Enable Notifications so you don’t miss the next vulnerability breakdown.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.